Social work professional associations in South Africa

This paper examines the progress of professional associations in South Africa in order to provide an understanding of the current difficulties being experienced in forming one unified body to represent social workers on international organizations, particularly the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) to which South Africa is seeking membership. The paper begins with a brief global overview of the development of the social work profession, the role of professional associations and their development in South Africa. It ends with some suggestions as to the way forward if social workers wish to become more visible in policy making processes and thus in influencing the future of welfare in South Africa.