Ensuring the future of rural social work in Australia
There is a long history of social work in remote, rural and regional towns. Recent impacts on rural communities such as globalisation, shifts in primary industry and mining as well as 'tree' and 'sea' changers have resulted in many transformations throughout rural Australia. Many rural communities are confronting a plethora of social problems arising from these social changes. Despite the need for social work services to support the rural sector, many human service agencies are unable to attract and retain qualified social workers in rural and remote areas. Given the enormous social changes taking place in the rural sector in recent times, social work has an important role to play in assisting individuals, families and communities with the impacts of these changes, and this article looks at ways of encouraging social workers to work in rural communities.