Social Worker CV Example (Australia)

Social work managers in Australia look first for a degree that makes you eligible for membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers, then for the practice setting and the complexity of the caseload you carry. Social work is not registered with AHPRA, so AASW eligibility, your Working with Children Check and a police check do the job a registration number does for nurses and pharmacists.

The Sample CV below is for a social worker with six years across child protection and a public hospital in Perth. His bullets cover risk assessment, family-led decision making, court reports, discharge planning for older patients, family violence screening and supervision of students on placement, each written so it can be lifted into a selection criteria response.

Tailor the CV to the field. A hospital wants discharge planning, family meetings and work with the multidisciplinary team; child protection wants risk assessment, court work and safety planning; a community or NDIS role wants advocacy and coordination with services. The US counterpart of this page is the social worker resume example, written for American agencies and state licensure; the Civic template keeps a social work CV clear for government application portals.

Updated . The person and employers in this Sample CV are fictional. Written for applicants in Australia; the page for applicants in the US is the social worker resume example.

Social Worker sample CV

Drawn at A4 proportions, the paper an Australian CV is printed on.

Lachlan Mirrabeen

Social Worker, AASW eligible, hospital and child protection practice

Joondalup, WAlachlan.mirrabeen@example.com0491 574 589

Summary

Social worker with six years in child protection and acute hospital practice, eligible for AASW membership and holding a current Working with Children Check. Carry a caseload of complex discharges on aged care and general medical wards, run family meetings with the multidisciplinary team, and screen and respond to family and domestic violence. Three years as a child protection officer give me confidence with risk assessment, court reports and safety planning.

Experience

Social Worker, Aged Care and General Medicine, Coastal Plains Health Service

– Present

Joondalup, WA

  • Hold a caseload of 15 to 20 patients across two medical wards and the aged care assessment unit, assessing psychosocial needs, capacity concerns and carer stress for older patients and their families.
  • Coordinate complex discharges with the medical, nursing and allied health team, including residential aged care applications, home care referrals and guardianship applications to the State Administrative Tribunal.
  • Screen for family and domestic violence and elder abuse, complete risk assessments and safety plans, and make referrals to specialist services and police where needed.
  • Supervise one social work student per semester on their final field placement and co-lead the department's peer reflection group.
Child Protection Officer, the state child protection department, Wanneroo district office

–

Wanneroo, WA

  • Managed a caseload of around 14 families, completing safety and risk assessments, home visits and case plans with parents, extended family and services.
  • Wrote reports and affidavits for the Children's Court and gave evidence at hearings, with reports that my team leader described as clear and balanced.
  • Facilitated family-led decision making meetings that kept children safely with relatives rather than entering foster care.

Education

Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)

Swan Coast University, Perth, WA

Field placements of 1,000 hours across a community legal centre and a hospital emergency department.

Skills

  • Psychosocial assessment
  • Risk assessment and safety planning
  • Discharge planning
  • Family meetings
  • Family and domestic violence response
  • Guardianship and capacity processes
  • Court reports and affidavits
  • Trauma-informed practice
  • Case notes in the electronic record
  • Student supervision

Certifications

  • Eligible for membership, Australian Association of Social Workers, AASW,
  • Working with Children Check (WA), Department of Communities, Western Australia,
  • National Police Check, WA Police Force,
  • C class driver's licence, Department of Transport, Western Australia,

Start yours from this example

Opens this sample in the editor, in one of the templates below. Swap in your details, then tailor it to each vacancy in about two minutes.

Use this example

How an Australian CV differs

Social work in Australia is a self-regulated profession: there is no AHPRA registration, and employers instead ask that you hold or are eligible for membership of the AASW, which accredits the degrees. Most public roles, in health departments and child protection agencies, are advertised with selection criteria and a job description form, and the CV supports a written response to each criterion. Practice settings carry different language, so mirror the advert's terms, and keep the CV to two or three pages of A4 with two referees, usually your current senior social worker and a previous team leader.

For a social worker in Australia

  1. AASW eligibility, not registration

    Write that you are eligible for AASW membership or a member, and the year of your accredited degree. Do not invent a registration number; social workers do not have one.

  2. Screening checks up front

    A Working with Children Check and a police check are required for most roles, and some ask for an NDIS Worker Screening Check. List each with the state and year.

  3. Caseload and complexity

    Say how many clients or families you carry and what makes the work complex: court involvement, capacity concerns, family violence, homelessness. That is how a manager judges your level.

  4. Written for selection criteria

    Write bullets with the situation, what you did and the outcome, so each can become a short example in your criteria response. Panels score the response and check it against the CV.

  5. Confidentiality in examples

    Never include names, ages or details that could identify a client or child. Describe the type of situation and your practice instead.

  6. Driver's licence for community roles

    Home visits are part of child protection and community work, so a current licence is often essential. Put it in the certifications section.

Every CV in Australia

A4 paper
Australia prints on A4. A Letter-sized PDF prints short on A4 and tells a recruiter the CV came from a US template.
Two to three pages
Australian CVs run longer than UK ones: two pages is normal and three is accepted for experienced applicants. One page suits a first job.
No photo
No photo, date of birth or marital status. Australian employers do not expect them, and anti-discrimination law makes most prefer not to see them.
Dates as DD/MM/YYYY
Day first where a full date appears, month and year for each role. The US month-first order reads wrong to an Australian recruiter.
Australian English
Australian English follows British spelling: organise, programme, centre, licence, specialise.
Suburb and state, not a street address
"Parramatta, NSW" is enough on the contact line. A full address is not expected, and the US-style ZIP line never is.

More on applying in Australia, with every CV example for it, on the Australia page.

Templates for the social worker CV

All templates

Every template exports on A4. The previews are drawn on Letter; the editor sets the page size when you export.

How the CV changes with experience

The same social worker CV, written at three levels: a profile and three bullets for each.

Entry level

Zero to two years, or a first post in the title

New graduate social worker with an AASW-accredited degree and two field placements, one in a community mental health team and one in a homelessness service, looking for a first role in health or child and family services.

  • Completed 500 hours in a community mental health team, carrying a small caseload under supervision and co-facilitating a carers' group.
  • Completed a second placement in a homelessness service, assessing clients and applying for crisis and transitional housing.
  • Worked part time as a youth worker in a drop-in centre for two years during the degree.

Mid level

Three to seven years, owns a process or a workload

Social worker with four years in NDIS support coordination and community disability services in Brisbane.

  • Provide specialist support coordination for 22 participants with complex needs, including housing, behaviour support and justice involvement.
  • Prepare reports for plan reviews and appeals that set out the evidence for funded supports.
  • Coordinate care teams across health, housing and justice for participants at risk of crisis.

Senior

Eight years or more, leads people, budgets or programmes

Senior social worker with twelve years of practice, leading a team of eight hospital social workers and the hospital's family violence response.

  • Lead and supervise eight social workers across inpatient, emergency and outpatient services, including clinical supervision and performance.
  • Developed the hospital's family violence screening procedure and training for nursing and medical staff.
  • Represent social work on the hospital's patient flow and clinical governance committees.

Skills to put on the social worker CV

Hard skills

Psychosocial assessment
Every referral starts with an assessment, and a panel wants to see you can gather a full picture quickly and record it clearly.
Risk assessment
Child protection, family violence and elder abuse all depend on structured risk assessment, and employers ask for it by name.
Discharge planning
Hospitals measure length of stay, and a social worker who moves complex patients safely to the right place is central to patient flow.
Legal and court work
Reports for courts and tribunals must be accurate and balanced, and experience giving evidence is valued in child protection.
Service navigation
Knowing aged care, NDIS, housing and family violence services lets you make referrals that actually work for the client.

Soft skills

Engagement with reluctant clients
Many families do not want a social worker involved, and the ability to build trust anyway is what makes plans hold.
Clear communication in conflict
Family meetings can be tense, and a social worker who keeps everyone focused on the patient or child is invaluable.
Self-care and reflective practice
Social work exposes you to trauma, and employers look for people who use supervision well and stay in the role.

Mistakes that cost social worker interviews

  1. Claiming AHPRA registration

    Writing a registration number for social work signals you do not know the profession's framework. State AASW eligibility or membership instead.

  2. Describing only tasks

    Case management and home visits describe the job, not your practice. Show the complexity, the decisions you made and what changed for the client or family.

  3. Identifiable client stories

    Even a cover letter example must be anonymised. A panel will notice and worry about your judgment on confidentiality.

  4. No selection criteria response

    A public sector application sent with only a CV is usually not shortlisted. Write the response and keep the CV as the evidence behind it.

  5. A US licensure layout

    A one-page document that leads with an LCSW licence and uses US spelling reads as foreign. Lead with your accredited degree, AASW eligibility and Australian settings.

Write bullets with the XYZ formula: what changed, the number that shows it, and how you did it, in one line.

Questions about the social worker CV

Do social workers need AHPRA registration in Australia?

No. Social work is self-regulated through the AASW, and most employers ask that you hold or are eligible for AASW membership. Put that on your CV with the year of your accredited degree.

What should a social worker CV include?

Your degree, AASW eligibility, screening checks, practice settings, caseload and complexity, key skills such as risk assessment and discharge planning, supervision given and received, and two referees.

How long should a social work CV be in Australia?

Two to three pages of A4. Keep your qualification, checks and current role on the first page, and use the rest for earlier roles and training.

How do I write a social work CV as a new graduate?

Give each field placement its own entry with the setting, the hours and what you did under supervision, then add any paid community, youth or disability work. Show your interest in the field you are applying to.

How do I move from child protection to hospital social work?

Lead with transferable skills such as risk assessment, family meetings and working with other professions, and add any health experience. Address the hospital's criteria on discharge planning and multidisciplinary work directly.

Can I tailor my CV to each social work advert?

Yes, and you should, because the language changes by setting. Paste the advert into Resume Master and it rewrites your summary and bullets in the terms that employer uses.

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