What's your job about?

I’m a front-of-house social worker for Services Australia. Services Australia is the government agency responsible for delivering social, healthcare and child support services and payments.

My role is to provide support for people experiencing vulnerability, with a focus on our priority groups. This includes individuals at risk of self-harm and those affected by family and domestic violence. It also includes young people without adequate support and people impacted by disasters and emergencies. Support can include assessing immediate risk to a person’s safety and wellbeing and conducting assessments to determine eligibility for payments or exemptions. It also includes short-term counselling, referrals to external services and short-term social casework.

I work in a service centre and see customers face-to-face who require support. Once a fortnight I work on our social work phone line, providing immediate phone support for customers calling the agency.

My areas of interest include conducting assessments for unsupported young people and the opportunity for social casework. This involves working with young people from when they come to us in crisis, and supporting them to achieve some of their goals.

What's your background?

I grew up in the northeastern suburbs of Victoria. I completed a Bachelor of Health Sciences (Public Health) and a Bachelor of International Development. I then entered the Master of Social Work to put the knowledge gained through my undergraduate studies into practice. I moved to Alice Springs  for the Services Australia National Graduate Program social work stream.

Throughout my studies, I’ve taken on different experiences where I developed deep-rooted social justice values. One of these experiences included an Indigenous immersion placement on Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara land. I’ve also completed fieldwork in the Philippines and a semester abroad in North Carolina.

For my graduate role, I requested to be placed in the Northern Territory for the outdoor adventure opportunities. I’d previously travelled to Alice Springs and Darwin and hiked for 2 weeks in Kakadu National Park. I also wanted the opportunity to work in an area with a different demographic than back home in Victoria.

What are the limitations of your job?

Being a social worker for a government agency can be challenging. We work to strict criteria laid out in policy and legislation. This means we can’t always provide someone with the desired outcome of an assessment, even if they’re experiencing difficult circumstances. However, being a social worker at Services Australia also allows you to support a shift in the perception of government services, by endeavouring to provide every Australian with the support they deserve. This is regardless of their eligibility, while showing empathy and understanding for their circumstances.