Social work is a dynamic profession in healthcare, with 46,300 social workers currently employed in various sectors across Australia. Social workers often provide life-saving support to people in critical situations and help them navigate personal and social challenges. As such, the role of a social worker can be diverse, where no two days look the same.
This article explores a day in the life of a social worker, highlighting the multifaceted nature of the profession and the demands and rewards it brings. We’ll discover how a social worker’s professional experiences help shape their career and why social workers are vital to the welfare of vulnerable people and groups.
The meaningful impact of social workers
Social work offers a framework for helping people through a sociological lens. This means that social workers can see how systems, whether they be organisations, communities, families, cultures and society in general can impact the individual.
Social workers in Australia make a profound and tangible impact on the lives of vulnerable and at-risk people, offering their services in various settings. These can include private practice, schools, government and non-government organisations, community care and policy development.
The different types of social workers underscore the variety this profession provides. For example, child and family support workers advocate for the safety and welfare of children in abusive or neglectful situations, working closely with families to provide support and intervention. They may work in child protection agencies or foster care organisations.
Another example is mental health social workers. They are credentialled social workers with specialised skills and experience in mental health. These professionals hold accreditation with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) and the capacity to provide Medicare-rebatable services to clients. Mental health social workers offer personalised counselling and support to people with mental health conditions. They work with people struggling with addictions, depression and anxiety and can work in rehabilitation centres, private practice and within community sectors.
The diversity within the social work industry, encompassing a wide range of niche areas and varied workplace settings, allows professionals to build a broad and adaptable skill set. They are exposed to a wide spectrum of cases and unique client challenges. Each role helps social workers develop different approaches, tools and knowledge, which helps them develop a versatile and well-rounded skill set where they can provide holistic care.
A day in the life of a social worker
Anne Castles is an AASW-accredited mental health social worker, holistic counsellor and founder of Earth and Womb. Anne has extensive experience as a professional social worker, having completed a Bachelor of Social Work 20 years ago. She has progressed her career in various roles and also with professional development. Her additional qualifications as a social worker cover several areas, such as complex trauma, birth trauma and perinatal counselling.
She currently spends her time working across two organisations as a clinical social worker supporting a varied mix of people. Half her week is spent working in her private practice, offering individual counselling sessions as a mental health social worker and the other half involves doing case work for a non-government organisation (NGO). For a deeper insight into her varied role, we look at a typical day in her life as a social worker and what this entails.
Private practice as a mental health social worker
Morning routine
Anne prepares for her telehealth or in-person clients in the morning by setting up her space and reviewing client notes prior to their appointments. She ensures she is grounded for her clients by engaging in breathing practices or emotional-freedom techniques (EFT) tapping at the beginning of her day and as needed throughout the day. Anne primarily works in women’s health and aims to create a calming and reassuring space for herself and her clients. Ensuring both parties feel comfortable and safe, ready for a counselling session is an important part of promoting positive therapeutic outcomes.
Client sessions
The additional mental health qualifications and experience Anne has obtained in her career have gained her accreditation as a mental health social worker. This has allowed Anne to offer one-on-one counselling sessions that are Medicare-rebatable under a Mental Health Care Plan. Her expertise also equips her to support clients more comprehensively with their overall wellbeing and mental health.
She conducts 75-minute to 90-minute client sessions, which she says is often longer than a standard counselling session offered by most professionals in this field. “This allows space for women to have a relational experience and I find this approach is important for the therapeutic process,” she says. In the women’s health space, Anne’s clients may present with a range of concerns. These can include anxiety, depression, childhood trauma, grief and relationship issues. Her clients are often new or expectant mothers and Anne provides perinatal mental health support to help women during this important time.
Depending on the specific concern and the client’s overall wellbeing, she may draw on a range of counselling techniques that she has developed as a mental health social worker to best support them in their recovery. Anne has a strong ethos of ‘meeting the client where they are’, which helps inform what therapeutic interventions she may use to help people in their healing process. She endeavours to work with the client holistically in a respectful and non-judgemental way. She also offers clients community resource support as she believes community connection is a vital part of the healing journey.
The number of sessions each client may need will vary, depending on the severity or complexity of their situation. Anne will initially work with clients more acutely, recommending a session every one to three weeks. Then, as her clients progress, she may recommend spacing appointments out and conducting follow-up sessions as needed.
In-between clients
Longer sessions in her private practice usually mean Anne sees three to five clients daily, with a fifteen-minute break in between. She spends this time catching up on client notes and says she has recently begun implementing AI tools to help with note-taking. She added that she would historically dread doing client notes but knew it was a necessary and important aspect of her job. She says that since adopting AI transcribing tools into her private practice, she has “found the process of finishing client notes actually more enjoyable.” Anne also has a ritual of making a cup of tea and resetting the room or cleansing the space between clients, ensuring she is clear and present to work with the next client.
Afternoon routine
At the end of her day, Anne will spend time finishing any notes or administrative work and will either go to the gym, go for a walk or dance. She acknowledges that physical movement is medicine for the body. Taking the time to unwind helps Anne maintain a sense of balance in her work day. It also supports her wellbeing and enhances her capacity to provide meaningful, client-centred care when she sees her clients next.
Non-government organisation (NGO) case work
Morning routine
Anne takes the time to prepare herself for a day working at an NGO supporting young women who have experienced assault. She mentally and emotionally grounds herself just as she would for a day working in private practice. The demands of this job are much more varied and dynamic, therefore taking a few minutes before starting her day to ready herself with a cup of tea and mindfulness practices helps her feel ready to provide compassionate care to vulnerable young women.
Case work
Her NGO role encompasses providing a range of counselling, resources and support services. An important aspect of her role is facilitating access to accommodation and providing housing support for women who are at risk of homelessness. This role also involves delivering community education on how to support vulnerable young women who find themselves in these circumstances.
Anne shared that this role is more ad hoc, involving case work and each day differs from the next. It consists of providing trauma counselling for young clients where Anne uses her vast knowledge of trauma and client-centred care approaches to help young women effectively. She says this role is “a bit more chaotic due to the number and complexity of people who need support, coupled with managing the administrative tasks involved in this demanding role.”
Group and community work
There are also aspects to this role that involve group work and community education, which include visiting schools and discussing topics relevant to young and adolescent women. Overall, working at an NGO involves a dynamic mix of individual, group, community support and networking with external agencies such as LGBTIQIA+ groups, First Nation groups and other socially marginalised parts of the community. Each day at an NGO is different and can provide a vast and valuable learning experience as a social worker.
Afternoon routine
The end of Anne’s workday is similar to how she wraps up a day with clients. She will go for a walk, dance or enjoy a form of movement to end her day. She knows that the busier her day is, the greater the need is to do something fun or relaxing. Anne admits that while she knows movement and maintaining good self-care practices are important, some days these get missed. However, overall, Anne finds the right balance between ensuring she’s looking after herself and keeping up with the demands of her role, which has helped her stay grounded as a social worker over the years.
Anne’s journey into the social work field
When asked what inspired her to pursue social work, Anne said she first started considering it in her younger years when she knew generally that she wanted to work in a field that helped people. “I had that inclination when I was a teenager and I went into a Bachelor of Social Work straight from high school.” However, she also shared that she didn’t really know what it would be like until she started studying.
“I didn’t know what the industry was really like, but the placements helped solidify where I wanted to work,” she recalls. On Anne’s second placement, her placement officer originally had her set up to gain experience in a government department working in disability support. However, they decided that Anne would benefit from working in a young families program, supporting the welfare of young and adolescent mothers having their first baby. “It was youth-focused, women-centred and a great environment to learn in, with women who were my age or younger and I ended up working there for a couple of years thereafter.”
Social work field placements are a part of social work degrees where you gain supervised, hands-on experience in an organisation or facility to get a better idea of what social work entails. Placements can be in hospitals, NGOs, refugee organisations, schools or aged-care centres among many other settings. When studying the Master of Social Work (Qualifying) with the University of Canberra Online, a dedicated Placement Specialist can help you source your placement and ensure it’s a good fit for both you as a student and for the organisation. Having this support is a valuable part of the practical element of a social work course.
Anne says that offering counselling and support to clients to develop their capacity and to be a part of their process is one of the most rewarding aspects of the job. “Witnessing people’s transformation is inspiring. Getting to be a part of people’s healing and recovery, getting to walk beside them on their journey is a privilege.”
Key questions to ask yourself before pursuing social work
There are a few things to ask yourself if you’re considering a career in social work. If you can cultivate curiosity, remain open and empathetic with a commitment to supporting others, then a career as a social worker could be a good fit for you.
Do you have a social justice mindset?
Anne says the social work industry typically attracts people who are naturally caring and who think about the bigger picture to drive change on a social level. It helps to reflect on your ability to empathise with people from diverse backgrounds and advocate for marginalised groups. “These jobs are full of diversity so it’s important to be compassionate and open and check your own biases and assumptions. This enables you to do your job professionally. It’s about creating a better fit between the individual and the systems they operate in,” Anne says. If you have a social justice framework and are motivated to help people, you could make a meaningful difference in the lives of your clients as a social worker.
Can you approach your studies with curiosity?
She also emphasised the growth you will invariably undergo throughout your study journey and career can help shape your work and how you support clients. “There’s a level of maturity that’s needed to study social work and it’s sometimes well-suited to mature-aged students. There’s a big amount of learning about yourself that happens with social work. Lots of opportunities to reflect, you’ll transform yourself as you move through your studies.” Being open to new experiences and exploring different areas is essential to hone your interests as a social worker. “Try different things, you’ll find what you enjoy just by trying things out. Placements are the most valuable part of the whole course, it’s where you get to see what being a social worker is actually like.”
Are you willing to work on yourself to better serve others?
In Anne’s experience, she says that social workers may pursue this work as a result of their own lived experience in overcoming personal challenges and want to pay it forward. “People who are drawn to this work are often people who have experienced some kind of trauma and try to recover and heal. Then they realise that it was so big and so profound that they want to help people with this thing that I went through.” Anne adds that to be successful and enjoy a long career in social work, it's essential to do your own self-development and reflective work with supervision. Even seeking counselling if you have a lived experience of difficulty or hardship can help you support your own clients more effectively.
Pathways to a career in social work
In Australia, there are a few pathways you can take to become a qualified social worker. The typical approach is to complete an undergraduate degree, such as a Bachelor of Social Work, which usually takes three or four years. A bachelor’s degree can deliver a strong foundation of social work theories and practice, with field placements offering hands-on experience in real-world settings.
Alternatively, if you have an undergraduate degree in a related field, such as psychology or another allied health qualification, you can pursue a Master of Social Work (Qualifying) to become qualified as a social worker. This AASW-accredited postgraduate course typically takes around two years to complete.
The University of Canberra's Master of Social Work (Qualifying) is an accredited online course designed to equip you with advanced skills and knowledge for effective social work practice. The curriculum is AASW-accredited and includes comprehensive field placements totaling 1,000 hours, which help consolidate your theoretical knowledge and apply it into practice in various settings.
You can then advance your studies with additional credentials, such as working towards gaining an accredited mental health social worker qualification. This may help increase your client reach, employability and capacity to offer tailored support to people struggling with mental health conditions.
Dedicate your career to transforming lives every day
A career as a social worker offers diversity, reward and enrichment as you support the welfare of people who need it most. It offers immense work flexibility in private practice, organisational work, community outreach and policy development.
To be a part of this rewarding healthcare field, book a professional development strategy call with our Education Consultant to get started on your study journey.
GlobalHealth Education’s university partners offer healthcare courses in a range of other fields, including public health, counselling, nursing, psychology, leadership and mental health. Choose a course and enquire to speak to a Student Enrolment Advisor for further guidance with the enrolment process.
