What are the differences between Social Work and Community Welfare?
Social work and Community welfare have much in common. They both are human service professions that share a commitment to social justice, human rights and social welfare and are recognised by State and Commonwealth governments. There are some differences between the two professions which leads to different educational paths. Community Welfare tends to be more focussed on what might be considered direct practice: casework, groupwork and community development. Social workers are expected to be competent in these areas but also in fields of ‘indirect’ practice such as research and policy development. Within organisations there may be different expectations and career paths open to the two professions.
