Assessment and report writing for social workers 003-12110000

As part of their assessment, social workers must review the customer's record (including online DOCs) to obtain details of the customer's payment details and any relevant background information (for example, previous social work contact).

In the case of an office interview or a phone interview, the social worker should contact the customer the day before the interview by SMS or phone to ensure that:

• the customer is still available to attend the interview
• the purpose of the interview is clarified
• the customer is advised of any documentation required
• details regarding the time and place of the interview are reinforced, and a direct contact number for alternative arrangements or further information is given

This is good customer service and may reveal whether the issues could be resolved in a phone call rather than a face-to-face interview. It will also help to minimise the 'Did Not Attend' (DNA) rate for social work appointments.

Where a report is required, the social worker must give attention to gathering the information required to assess and either:

• determine the customer's eligibility to receive a payment, or
• make a recommendation to assist the delegate to determine eligibility

The social worker must:

• be familiar with the eligibility criteria for the relevant payment or decision
• be familiar with the relevant administrative procedures/guidelines
• undertake a holistic assessment of the customer's circumstances
• consider and commence any relevant interventions, for example, internal or external referrals

Some general principles for social workers to observe are:

• It should be possible to read a report and understand the customer's situation/issues without prior knowledge of the case or access to the file. Do not assume that whoever is reading the report will already have all the relevant background information or departmental knowledge
• Reports should be typed in the Social Work Information System (SWIS) using the relevant pro forma, with a DOC on the customer's record advising of its location
• The Professional Service Delivery Operations Team (PSDO) in the Social Work Services Branch are responsible for releasing social work authored documents requested for Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) proceedings. If a request for an authored document is received, social workers must consult with their Line Managers and PSDO about these arrangements
• A report may become relevant in an AAT appeal and therefore may be considered by the AAT
• Reports written by social work students and/or non-delegated social workers must be clearly identified in the report. The relevant supervising social worker details must be included
• The report must include details of people contacted to obtain further information and/or verify customer's statements. The customer's permission must be obtained in writing or verbally to contact any third parties and this must be documented. If any written statements are supplied, these must also be documented in the report

In writing the report, social workers should consider the Social Work Professional Writing Guide.

When seeking the opinion of third parties, it should be explained that the:

• customer has given permission for the contact
• social worker cannot guarantee that the information provided will not be released to the customer in the future as the result of a review of decision or freedom of information request

Note: if third parties indicate that the information they have provided would be harmful to the customer should it be given to them, this should be clearly noted in the social work report.

Where the report contains information that would be harmful if released directly to the customer if a Freedom of Information (FOI) request is made:

• this must be noted at the end of the report
• with a request for social work consultation

To safeguard customer confidentiality, sensitive personal information about the customer must be omitted, unless it is necessary to make a decision about their qualification to receive a payment.

Social workers must consider privacy provisions and apply professional discretion.

It is important that reports are stored in accordance with agency guidelines. This means that copies of reports, including drafts, must not be kept outside of the core system. See Storing scanned documents.

Social work reports for non-delegated decisions must comply with the relevant Operational Blueprint (OB) and/or specified departmental template. If there is no OB or specified agency format/template please use the general report in SWIS.