Yes, Irish social workers can work in Australia, and there’s no register to join first: social work isn’t registered through Ahpra, and South Australia, which had passed a registration law, decided in June 2026 not to start its scheme. What employers want is eligibility for membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), and the AASW’s assessment of your Irish qualification is also the skills assessment for a visa. Social Worker (ANZSCO 272511) is on the lists for the 482, 186, 189, 190 and 491 visas.
Everything below is as of November 2026, so check the official pages we link before you pay for anything. Planning the wider move too? Start with our complete guide to moving to Australia from Ireland.
Short version
- No registration: no state or national register for social workers as of November 2026. South Australia dropped its planned scheme on 19 June 2026.
- One AASW assessment does both jobs: it shows employers you’re eligible for AASW membership and counts as your visa skills assessment. It costs AUD 2,123.64 if your address is outside Australia.
- English: the AASW exempts you on your schooling and degree in English, not your passport. Home Affairs accepts an Irish passport as competent English.
- Visas: Social Worker is on the MLTSSL and the Core Skills Occupation List, for the 482 Core Skills stream, 186 Direct Entry, 189, 190 and 491.
- Working holiday: hospital, mental health, disability, aged care and child protection work are in Home Affairs’ critical sectors, so the 6 month limit with one employer doesn’t apply to them.
Is social work regulated in Australia?
Not by law. Social work isn’t one of the professions with a National Board under Ahpra, the scheme that registers nurses, doctors and psychologists, and the AASW calls social work “a self-regulating profession”. The AASW has been calling for social work to be added to that national scheme.
South Australia passed the Social Workers Registration Act 2021 and set up a registration board, but SA’s legislation site says the Act “has not come into operation”. On 19 June 2026 the SA Government announced it had “decided not to proceed with the commencement of a mandatory registration scheme for social workers”, rather than put a new fee on more than 4,000 social workers, noting no comparable scheme exists interstate. Any older article telling you to register in SA is out of date.
What employers check instead is the AASW. Its guide says most employers require social work applicants to show eligibility for AASW membership “as a basic selection requirement for social work positions”.
| Your situation | What to look at |
|---|---|
| Qualified social worker, CORU registered | AASW international qualification assessment, for jobs and visas |
| Aged 18 to 35 and want to try it first | Working holiday visa, ideally in a critical sector role |
| Have an employer willing to sponsor you | 482 Skills in Demand visa, Core Skills stream |
| 3 or more years of post-qualifying experience and want permanent residency | 189, 190 or 491, plus the AASW’s optional skilled employment assessment |
| Qualified in social care, not social work | The AASW says it does not assess social care qualifications |
The AASW assessment: one application for jobs and visas
Home Affairs names the AASW as the assessing authority for Social Worker, and the AASW’s international qualification recognition application covers both migration and AASW membership eligibility for employment. You must meet five criteria:
- A specific qualification in social work.
- A professional social work qualification in the country where you trained, which enables registration where that exists (in Ireland, that’s CORU).
- Learning outcomes comparable to an AASW accredited Australian qualification.
- At least 1,000 hours of field education in at least two placements with contrasting practice areas, one of them in direct practice, taken over at least two academic years.
- English at the level of the AASW’s English language policy.
The AASW’s country assessment guidelines (dated January 2014, still on its resources page) say these Irish qualifications are usually assessed as meeting its requirements: UCC’s Master of Social Work, Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work Studies or Bachelor of Social Work; UCD’s Master of Social Science in Social Work or Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work; Trinity’s Master of Social Work, Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work, or Bachelor of Social Studies with the NQSW; and NUI Galway’s Master of Social Work. Other colleges’ qualifications can be assessed too, and every application is judged individually.
Placements totalling 500 to 1,000 hours can be topped up, for example with a referee-verified professional statement about your post-qualifying work. Under 500 hours, or a single placement, can’t get a positive outcome.
You upload your parchment and transcripts, the IQA Course Information Form completed by your college (or proof you asked), evidence of CORU registration, English evidence, your CV and course outline. Colour scans are fine, no certifying, and you verify your identity afterwards with One Click Verify, passport included.
Do Irish social workers need IELTS?
Usually not, but it’s your education that exempts you, not your passport. Under the AASW’s English language policy you’re exempt if all your secondary education (Years 7 to 12, so first year to Leaving Cert) and at least three years of full time study at bachelor level or higher were taught and assessed in English in Ireland or another listed country. Your school results or a school letter, plus your degree results, prove it. Otherwise it’s the IELTS Academic test, with 7.0 in each band.
Did your Leaving Cert through Irish? The policy says taught and assessed “in English”, so if you went to a Gaelcholáiste, email the AASW before you apply rather than assume you’re exempt.
Apply before you leave Ireland. The fee depends on your correspondence address, and the outside Australia rate is AUD 212.36 cheaper. It’s also simplest while you’re still on the CORU register.
Fees and processing times
| AASW assessment | Fee |
|---|---|
| International qualification assessment, address outside Australia | AUD 2,123.64 |
| International qualification assessment, address in Australia | AUD 2,336.00 (includes GST) |
| Optional skilled employment assessment, 1 to 3 positions, address outside Australia | AUD 943.64 |
| Optional skilled employment assessment, 1 to 3 positions, address in Australia | AUD 1,038.00 (includes GST) |
| Renewing an expired skills assessment, address outside Australia | AUD 176.36 |
As of November 2026 the AASW’s fees page still shows its FY 2025 to 2026 fees, effective from 1 July 2025, so check for an update before you pay. Fees are non-refundable. Allow 6 to 8 weeks from the date your application is marked “pending assessment”: in the week starting 9 November 2026 the AASW was assessing applications that reached that stage on 26 October 2026. Only employers can ask for priority. A positive skills assessment is valid for three years.
The skilled employment assessment
For points on a 189, 190 or 491 visa, you can add an optional skilled employment assessment if you have at least 3 years of post-qualifying social work experience overseas in the past 10 years. It only counts paid jobs titled Social Worker, or that required a social work degree, at more than 20 hours a week and lasting at least 3 months, so your Tusla or HSE years face the same test as any job.
Keeping your CORU registration
CORU’s annual renewal fee is currently EUR 100. If you stop paying, CORU says it’s “vital” that you apply for voluntary removal through the registrant portal rather than letting it lapse:
- Voluntary removal: coming back costs EUR 100 within 6 months, or EUR 30 plus the EUR 100 renewal fee after that.
- Lapsed for non-payment: restoration (EUR 50 plus EUR 100) is only possible within 6 months of your renewal date. After that you’d have to apply for registration again.
- Living abroad: after more than a year abroad following removal you’ll need a police clearance certificate from that country to return, and there may be extra requirements if it’s over two years since you last practised. See CORU’s restoration procedure.
Visas for social workers
Social Worker (272511) is on both the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) and the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) on Home Affairs’ skilled occupation list as of November 2026, with no caveats.
| Visa | Key points (November 2026) |
|---|---|
| 482 Skills in Demand, Core Skills stream | Up to 4 years with your sponsor. At least 1 year of relevant experience in the last 5 years, and the market salary, no less than AUD 79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. From AUD 4,015. |
| 186 Employer Nomination, Direct Entry | Permanent, employer sponsored. From AUD 6,140. |
| 189 Skilled Independent | Points tested: at least 65 points, under 45 when invited, skills assessment from the 3 years before invitation. From AUD 6,135. |
| 190 and 491 | Points tested, with state or territory nomination |
Your Irish passport proves competent English (0 points), and overseas experience in your occupation in the 10 years before invitation scores 5 points for 3 years, 10 for 5 and 15 for 8. Our 482 visa guide for Irish citizens explains sponsorship, and our visa options guide covers the rest. Our partner Migration Unity are registered migration agents who can check your options.
Working holiday visa: the 6 month rule
If you’re 18 to 35, the working holiday visa (subclass 417) costs AUD 840. You must be outside Australia when you apply and when it’s decided, and processing takes around three months.
Normally you can only work for the same employer for 6 months, but the critical sector exemption covers a lot of social work. Health covers “all work carried out in hospitals” and mental health services, aged care and disability services are a sector of their own, and childcare lists “child protective/welfare specialists/workers”. Roles outside those sectors keep the 6 month cap unless Home Affairs gives you permission.
Victoria’s child protection door. Victoria has closed recruitment for international candidates living overseas (except New Zealand), but its international recruitment page, updated 15 October 2026, says temporary visa holders already living in Australia with work rights may be eligible for a 482 sponsorship if they secure a full time, ongoing Child Protection Practitioner role at CPP4 or CPP5 level. Arriving on a working holiday visa and applying once you’re here fits that description.
Working with Children Checks by state
Work with children needs the state’s check (Tasmania and the ACT use a wider “vulnerable people” registration). Fees are for paid workers:
| State and check | Cost and what to know |
|---|---|
| NSW: Working with Children Check | AUD 112. Apply online, then show original ID at a Service NSW Centre. Valid 5 years. |
| VIC: Working with Children Check | AUD 139.20 for an Employee Clearance from 1 July 2026, with about 45 minutes of mandatory child safety training. Valid 5 years. |
| QLD: blue card | AUD 108.30 for paid work, from 1 July 2026. Your employer can pay it for you. |
| WA: Working with Children Check | AUD 87. People coming from overseas should lodge it on arrival in WA. The card lasts 3 years. |
| SA: Working with Children Check (DHS Screening Unit) | AUD 145. You can apply from overseas online, with a passport and valid Australian visa as ID. |
| TAS: Registration to Work with Vulnerable People | AUD 137.20 from 1 July 2026. You can apply from overseas with certified ID and a certified photo. |
| ACT: Working with Vulnerable People registration | AUD 163. Verify your identity in person or by post. Valid 5 years. |
| NT: Working with Children Clearance (Ochre Card) | AUD 89 for paid employment |
Police certificates for your visa are separate: see our Irish police certificate guide.
Jobs and pay
Jobs and Skills Australia’s profile for social workers (ANZSCO 2725) gives median full time earnings of AUD 2,172 a week, against AUD 1,852 for all occupations, before tax, from the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025.
Here’s what state child protection services say about overseas qualified staff:
- Victoria: child protection accepts AASW accredited qualifications or full membership, plus a National Crime Check, a Victorian Employee Working with Children Check and a driver’s licence. Salaries from 1 May 2026 run from AUD 100,894 to AUD 114,476 at CPP4 and AUD 116,413 to AUD 140,849 at CPP5, before super.
- NSW: the DCJ caseworker FAQ says visa holders may be considered for temporary roles depending on their work rights, but ongoing jobs need Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency.
- Queensland: Child Safety Officer roles consider overseas qualifications assessed as comparable to an Australian one, and you send evidence of that assessment with your application.
Browse our Irish Around Oz job board and set up job alerts so new roles land in your inbox.
Before you leave Ireland
- Ask your college now for the IQA Course Information Form and your placement hours, and dig out your Leaving Cert results for the English exemption.
- Decide about CORU: keep paying or apply for voluntary removal, but don’t let it lapse.
- Money: CurrencyFair is our main partner for moving euro to Australian dollars.
Bringing kids? Read our guide to moving to Australia with family. Moving with a partner in another profession? We have the same kind of guide for Irish nurses, teachers, doctors, tradespeople and accountants.
Starting a social work job on the other side of the world? Our Facebook groups are full of Irish people in Australia who can tell you which areas suit you and help you find your feet.
FAQ
Is social work regulated in Australia?
Not by law, as of November 2026. There’s no Ahpra board for social work, and South Australia decided in June 2026 not to start its registration scheme. Employers usually ask for eligibility for AASW membership instead.
How much is the AASW skills assessment?
AUD 2,123.64 if your correspondence address is outside Australia, or AUD 2,336.00 including GST inside Australia. Allow 6 to 8 weeks once it’s marked pending assessment.
Is the AASW assessment for employment different from the migration one?
No. For overseas qualified social workers it’s the same international qualification recognition application, and it covers migration and AASW membership eligibility for employment.
Do Irish social workers need IELTS for the AASW?
Not if you did your secondary schooling and at least three years of degree study in English in Ireland or another listed country. Your passport alone doesn’t exempt you.
Is social worker on the skilled occupation list in 2026?
Yes. Social Worker (272511) is on the MLTSSL and CSOL for the 189, 190, 491, 482 Core Skills stream and 186 Direct Entry.
Can I work as a social worker on a working holiday visa?
Yes. Hospital, mental health, disability, aged care and child protection work fall under critical sectors, so the 6 month limit with one employer doesn’t apply there.
Should I keep my CORU registration?
It costs EUR 100 a year. If you stop, apply for voluntary removal rather than letting it lapse, because restoration is cheaper and still open to you later.
