In line with our vision to mobilize mental health and wellbeing across Ontario, our advocacy aims to:
Our advocacy priorities are responsive to evolving needs across the province, and are driven and informed by our 10,000 members through member surveys and consultation, our member-led advisory groups and our member-led Board of Directors.
OASW's 2026 pre-budget submission provides policymakers with recommendations informed by the experience of OASW members who provide frontline care and social support to thousands of Ontarians.
You can help inform our policy and advocacy work by joining one of OASW’s Advisory Groups. Each fall, we issue a call for new members to bring their insights and expertise to the table to help shape our priorities.
In 2017, OASW launched a successful grassroots advocacy campaign to pass the Controlled Act of Psychotherapy, ensuring access to the title of "Psychotherapist" for qualified social workers.
Learn more
Following successful advocacy by OASW, the Ontario Government launched a $1-million, two-year pilot project that provided reimbursement for professional development activities for social workers and social services workers.
As of 2012, fees for clinical social work services can be claimed as a "medical" expense for the purpose of a tax deduction. OASW lobbied for many years for this change. The lack of a medical deduction for social workers was a disincentive, especially for physicians, to refer to our profession.
In 2010, changes to the Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998 enabled social workers with a doctorate in social work to use the title "Doctor" when providing clinical services. Previously, this title was restricted to five professions under the Regulated Health Professions Act.
The College's fees are based upon its activities related to protecting the public, developing standards of professional practice and a code of ethics.
After a highly effective province-wide campaign that was spearheaded by OASW and involved social workers, employers and service associations in lobbying the Premier, the Minister of Health and MPPs, we secured the inclusion of the social work profession in this Act.
Persistent advocacy over two decades led to the provincial regulation of the social work profession.
Successful lobbying led to the inclusion of social workers in regulations under this Act.
The Ontario College of Certified Social Workers (OCCSW), now the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW), was established by OASW as a voluntary regulatory body in the mid-1980s.
Contact OASW's policy team [email protected]
The Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW) has shared its priorities for Ontario’s 2026 budget, including three concrete actions that target barriers to mental health and address a key social determinant of poor mental health: poverty.
OASW has shared its priorities for the provincial government’s 2025 budget, with a focus on addressing barriers to accessing mental health care across the province.
OASW has shared its priorities for the provincial government’s 2024 budget, with a focus on improving access to mental health and addictions care across the province.
Parents should voice their concerns if their children’s mental health needs aren’t being addressed at school, says OASW, which is flagging persistent shortages of professionals even as mental health funding for schools increases.
OASW was pleased to see the Government of Ontario table a 2023 Provincial Budget that creates opportunities to strengthen and expand critical supports that Ontarians rely on for their mental health and well-being.
OASW has submitted our recommendations to prioritize access to mental health care to alleviate health system pressures in the 2023 Ontario Budget.
Ontario social workers are offering some tips for parents who may be concerned about their children’s return to school this week.
OASW's 2022 Pre-Budget recommendations to the Province focused on improving the mental wellness of Ontarians through equitable and increased investments in mental health supports and the social determinants of health.
The Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW) recognizes and appreciates the Government of Ontario’s focus and investments made in the 2021 Budget to protect the health of Ontarians and our province’s economy in the wake of COVID-19.
OASW made a written and oral submission focused on improving the socioeconomic and mental health outcomes of Ontarians as the province plans for the road to recovery.