Migrating Qualifications: The Ethics of Recognition

Abstract

As a contribution to theorising the field of international social work practice, this article explores the Australian approach to recognition of overseas qualifications for social workers. Recognition of qualifications across borders both enables and is constitutive of internationalised social work practice. Migration of social workers has previously been discussed with reference to portability of values, skills and knowledge across cultural contexts, and the ethical implications of social workers migrating from countries which need their services. Questions of professional recognition through skilled migration have received less scholarly attention, compounded by a lack of empirical data documenting trends and analysing international implications. In this article, information gathered from the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) provides a preliminary picture of recent migration of social workers to Australia. Critical analysis of the assumptions underlying the qualifications assessment process supports the conclusion that the current approach rests on an understanding of social work that risks excluding migrant social workers who ostensibly do not conform to the model of social work practice on which the assessment process is based, potentially excluding valuable contributions to internationalising practice through transnational migration.