ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT FOR WELFARE WORKERS

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT FOR WELFARE WORKERS

The Australian Institute of Welfare and Community Workers Inc. (AIWCW) announced on 17 July 2008 that applicants requesting assessment after 01 January 2010 as a welfare worker for the purpose of migration to Australia would need to provide evidence of a proficiency in the English language of not less that an Overall Score of 7.0 in the academic version of the English Language Testing System (IELTS)¹.

Since that announcement, the AIWCW has undertaken an extensive project funded by the Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) to determine the appropriate level of English language proficiency to be applied. A copy of the Project Report can be viewed by clicking here.

The AIWCW now re-affirms that the English language requirement will be introduced with effect from 1 February 2010. The required level of proficiency is a score of not less than 7.0 in each IELTS component (also known as band), that is, reading, writing, speaking and listening - as evidenced through results achieved in recognised IELTS tests.

Concessions, Exemptions and Transitional arrangements have been taken into consideration – as outlined below.

Concessions

1. The score of 7.0 for each language component (reading, writing, speaking and listening) may be obtained at any test session over a period of 12 months. This may apply even if scores in some components at a particular test are lower than 7.0. As soon as a score of 7.0 is obtained for all four components these satisfactory scores are valid for a period of two years thereafter.

2. Either the general or the academic form of the IELTS test will be recognised until 1 February 2012. With effect from 1 February 2012 only results from the academic IELTS test will be recognised. Concession 1 will continue to apply after this date.

Exemptions

Exemptions will apply to those who were fully educated (for at least 10 years in formal schooling) in a country with English as the main or official language, as already allowed by other relevant professions. Included among these countries are: Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, United States of America, Canada and New Zealand.

Transitional Arrangements

The AIWCW recognises that those international students who were enrolled in an AIWCW approved course in Australia before 31 July 2008 did not have the opportunity to be aware of the intention of the AIWCW to require an English language proficiency.

To reduce the impact on these students, a special concession has been made so that students who were already studying in an AIWCW approved course in Australia on 31 July 2008, or who had signed an agreement before 31 July 2008 to study such a course, will not be subject to the above AIWCW requirement to be proficient in the English language.

Whilst the AIWCW has agreed to this special transitional arrangement, it is to be acknowledged that the AIWCW has a duty of care to the community welfare sector, welfare professionals and students. We wish to ensure that Community Welfare professionals have the necessary skills, knowledge and qualities to fulfil their roles working with individuals and communities. Graduates whose English language may not be of an appropriate level of proficiency will find it increasingly difficult to obtain work in the profession and an unsatisfactory English language proficiency level may pose unacceptable risks to clients.

AIWCW strongly recommends that those students taking advantage of these special transitional arrangements make every effort to work on developing and improving their English language skills to ensure their employability and suitability to be employed within the Community Welfare Sector.

¹ Information about IELTS tests and testing centres can be found at www.ielts.org