Australian Social Work Supervision Practice in 2007

Abstract

In 2007, a national online survey was conducted to investigate the practice of social work supervision in Australia. Six hundred and seventy-five social workers across Australia completed an online survey to produce the quantitative results reported in this article. The majority of respondents were female and were employed full time across a range of fields of practice, including statutory, non-statutory, and health and counselling settings. Nearly 84% reported having supervision. The largest number of respondents had received individual supervision in their place of work but some had also received more than one type of supervision. For more than two-thirds of the respondents, their principal supervisor was also their line manager, and most had had no choice in their supervisor. Despite the volume of supervision literature, there are limited empirical data about current supervision work practice in Australia. Findings from this study will lay a foundation for future research on social work supervision, a topic of significant importance to the social work profession.

Keywords:

• Social Work
• Supervision
• Line Management

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the social workers who responded so generously to the online survey in 2007. Without their participation this article would not have been possible.