I am standing for the National Board of Directors because I believe the AASW has huge potential to create a better future for this nation, by ensuring that our social work professional expertise and knowledge is a consistent presence in the media and in public policy.
I see a future for the AASW and for social work in Australia in which
– we are a registered profession with rigorously protected wages and conditions;
– our world-leading education and training are supported and enabled by the Commonwealth government;
– our private practitioners are thriving, with billing rights and conditions that match those of other health professions;
– our fields of practice grow to accommodate a return to our origins as core environmental advocates and practitioners;
– social work has a strong media and public profile, at national level and within each state and territory.
The past eight months have shown that Australia needs social workers to be front and centre in public policy debates in this continent.
Our presence needs to be as strong as the AMA’s; we comprise tens of thousands of essential workers with first-hand knowledge about what is happening in the lives of people who are shut out of decision-making but whose perspectives need, now more than ever, to be heard.
Alex Bhathal 
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