Key Concepts in Social Work Practice, SWK4001.10, explores the contested scope of social work practice in contemporary Australian society. Students will explore the definitions of social work as a profession, both nationally and internationally, and what it means to be a social work practitioner in contemporary Australian society. Students will explore and evaluate the complex historical and cultural context of social work practice within the Australian welfare state and how community services are currently organised and delivered. This subject also examines the history and philosophy, values and ethics, and professional practice standards, the latter as prescribed by the AASW (2023). Students will explore models of ethical decision making, as well as their own values, ethics, and morals, and how these shape students’ emerging professional identity in alignment with the professional practice framework. Students will interrogate the key concepts of trauma-informed practice, social justice, anti-oppressive and anti-racist practice, inequality, power, privilege, and disadvantage, and their significance to professional practice.