• ensure professional standards of Social Work practice
• promote continuing education and training of SWs and SSPs
• improve the professional image of SWs and SSPs
• groom leaders to guide young SWs and SSPs

The Accreditation System is owned by the Ministry of Social and Family Development. It is overseen by the Social Work Accreditation and Advisory Board and administered by the Singapore Association of Social Workers.

"Social Workers" refer to graduates and current practitioners with Social Work qualifications, i.e. Degree in Social Work or a Graduate Diploma in Social Work recognised by the Singapore Association of Social Workers and the Social Work Accreditation and Advisory Board.

Programme Executives/Youth Workers who are not Social Work trained are encouraged to undergo formal Social Work training in order to be accredited as Registered Social Workers.

The recognised Social Work qualifications are:

National University of Singapore

• Bachelor of Arts (Social Work)
• Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Social Work
• Graduate Diploma in Social Work
• Master of Social Sciences (Social Work)

• Bachelor of Social Work
• Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)
• Graduate Diploma in Social Work
• Master of Social Work

Supervised practice hours must be obtained after completion of Social Work Degree, during employment from a supervisor who is a Registered Social Worker and at least 4 years of Social Work experience. The remaining hours can be obtained during employment where the Social Worker is supervised by his/her supervisor on a regular basis throughout the period.  Examples of supervised practice include formal and informal discussions, case conferences, professional meetings and open appraisals as well as indirect contacts such as emails, appraisal reports, etc. 

If you have completed your first Degree or Graduate Diploma in Social work in 2014 and thereafter and are applying for accreditation for the first time, your hours of supervised practice during employment must be obtained from a supervisor who is a Registered Social Worker with at least 4 years of post-Social Work qualification experience.

If you have completed your first Degree or Graduate Diploma in Social Work before 2014, it is not mandatory for you to fulfill this condition but you are encouraged to do so.

If you are a Registered Social Service Practitioner applying for conversion to a Registered Social Worker after you have completed your first Degree or Graduate Diploma in social work in 2014 and thereafter, your hours of supervised practice during employment must be obtained from a supervisor who is a Registered Social Worker with at least 4 years of post-Social Work qualification experience.

However, if you have completed your first degree or graduate diploma in social work before 2014, the supervised practice hours during employment may be obtained from a non-RSW supervisor.

SASW has a supervision service to help you meet this requirement. The service helps secure, select and match supervisors with Social Workers who are unable to obtain supervision from a Senior Social Worker at the workplace and enables Social Workers to obtain supervision from qualified Social Workers with at least 4 years of social work experience. For details and registration, please click here.

Yes. To become a Registered Social Worker under the accreditation system, you would need to possess a recognised degree or graduate diploma in Social Work as stated in the answer to Question 8.

For details on how to become a Social Worker, please click here.

As accreditation is not mandatory at present, social workers who do not meet the entry requirements on 1 April 2009 can apply for accreditation at a later date when he/she is able to fulfill the requirements for accreditation. Applications for accreditation from social service practitioners had ceased with effect from 1 July 2012.

Accreditation status is renewed every two years. Registered Social Workers-Provisional, Registered Social Workers and Registered Social Service Practitioners must fulfill 60 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Credits during the two-year period to qualify for renewal. Please click here on how the credits can be obtained. Social Service Practitioners who have been accredited before the window period for RSSP accreditation expired on 30 June 2012 and who meet the CPE credits requirements will continue to be eligible for renewal after the window period.

You will be given the following extension periods during which you will not be accredited:

1. One-year extension. This means you will be given another year to acquire the number of credits required; and
2. Two-year rolling extension. If you are still unable to obtain the required number of credits after the one-year extension, you will be given 2 more years to do so. However, with every passing day during the 2-year period, the first day of the period will be deleted from your log book calendar. This means that credits acquired on that first day will be deleted.

During the above extension periods, you will not be accredited and will not be on the register. You are encouraged to return to the register by chalking up the remaining credits and applying for renewal as soon as possible. However, should you fail to meet the CPE requirements and have your accreditation status renewed during the two extension periods, your accreditation records will be deleted from our online system and you will have to apply as a fresh applicant should you wish to be accredited again in future.

No fees will be levied for accreditation and renewal.