Unit of Study SWRK5003 Social Policy and Law for Social Work (2025)

Unit description

This unit introduces the social policy and legal contexts of social work practice. It examines how policy and law can both enable and constrain the professional objectives of social work with regards to meeting people’s needs, advancing human rights, and achieving social justice. Through examination of policies and legislation influencing key areas of contemporary social work practice, this unit develops students’ knowledge and skills in policy development, analysis and advocacy.  

Unit content

1. Social work, social policy and the law: an introduction
2. Engaging with policy and law: professional responsibilities, roles and interventions 
3. Critically analysing policy and legislation: a social work perspective
4. Advocating for change: reforming policy and legislation to advance human rights and social justice
5. Key social policy and legal issues in contemporary social work: First Nations peoples and decolonisation
6. Other key social policy and legal issues in contemporary social work