Membership Renewals

NOTE: Online renewal is now closed.  If you have not yet renewed your membership, please forward the hard copy renewal form to the College. 

NEW! Online renewal is now available for College members from November 9, 2009 to March 15, 2010. In order to use the online system, members must have an email address on file with the College.

Beginning in September 2009, members were sent a letter indicating their online user ID (College registration number) and temporary password. You will need this information to access the online system. Ready to renew online? Visit Online Member Services.

The membership year for OCSWSSW is January 1 to December 31. The annual fee is $270 and $170 for new graduates*.

The annual fee (also referred to as a renewal fee) for a year must be paid on or before December 31st of the previous year.

A $50 late fee penalty will be charged if the annual fee is received after January 31 of the membership year.

* For new graduates who are registered on or before December 31st of the year in which they graduate from a social work or social service work program, the renewal fee for these new graduate members in the two subsequent years of their registration will be $170, provided that the payment of the annual fee is made prior to the date on which the late payment penalty is effective.

Q. Can I send a post-dated cheque or pay in instalments?

• Payment must be received in full on or before December 31.
• The College is not able to offer an instalment plan for payment of the annual or renewal fees at this time. 
• The College will accept a post-dated cheque for payment on or before December 31.

Q. What will happen if I don't send in my renewal form and the fee by December 31?

• According to the Bylaws of the College, the annual fee (also referred to as a renewal fee) for a year must be paid on or before December 31 of the previous year.
• A member who fails to pay the annual fee on or before January 31 shall pay a penalty of $50.00. 
• The Registrar may suspend the certificate of registration of a member of the College for failure to pay the annual fee or penalty prescribed by the bylaws. 
• The Registrar shall not suspend a member's certificate of registration without first giving the member two months notice of the default and intention to suspend.

Q. I am not working full-time (unemployed / student / working part-time / on leave / retired). Can the College decrease or defer the annual fees?

No. The cost of regulating a member of the College does not change as a result of hours worked or income.

Q. What are the consequences of my certificate of registration being suspended?

If your certificate of registration is suspended, you will no longer be able to:

• Use the title of social service worker/registered social service worker or social worker/registered social worker or their French equivalents.
• Represent or hold out, expressly or by implication, that you are a social service worker/registered social service worker or social worker/registered social worker. 
• In addition, it is an act of professional misconduct to engage in the practice of social work or social service work while your certificate is suspended. 
• You will not be able to stand for election to council, nor vote in the election of members to council. 
• A permanent suspension annotation will be placed on the Register of the College which is information that is available to the public.

Q. If I am suspended for failure to pay the fees, and want the suspension to be removed, what will happen?

For the removal of the suspension, you must pay a reinstatement fee of $150 plus applicable taxes, the penalty for failure to pay the annual fee of $50 and the annual fee of $270.

Q. How was the annual fee established?

Under the Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998, the College has a broad range of responsibilities on behalf of the public and members, including:

• Registering members of the professions;
• Setting entry to practice requirements and standards of practice; 
• Promoting quality assurance so that members maintain competence; and 
• Managing a thorough complaints and discipline process.

The Council, taking into account the experience of the College in the first five years of operation and estimating the number of registrants and future expenses, determined that the College could reduce the annual fee and still be able to meet its responsibilities. Since 2006, the annual fee has been reduced twice amounting to a total reduction of 27% since the College’s inception. New graduate members are also eligible for a $100 exemption from the annual fee for the first two years of their membership, provided they register by December 31st of the year in which they graduate.

These fees are in line with the fees of similarly sized Colleges in Ontario.

Q. What services do I get for my fees?

• The mandate of the College is to protect the public interest. The College is unlike a professional association whose mandate is to advocate and provide services for its members.
• However, benefits of membership in the College include: the ability to use the title social worker/social service worker or registered social worker/registered social service worker; eligibility to stand for election to Council, the opportunity to vote in the election of Councillors to Council; receipt of all College publications, for example, Practice Guidelines, Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice and Perspective Newsletters; practice consultations; online member services; and attendance at the Annual Meeting and Education Day.

Q. What if I don't need to be a member any longer?

If you do not need to renew your membership (i.e. you no longer use the title social worker or social service worker, nor hold yourself out to be a social worker or social service worker), and you wish to avoid your Certificate of Registration being suspended, you must send a signed, original letter by mail to the Registrar informing her of your resignation. Neither a fax nor an e-mail letter of resignation is acceptable.

Q. What if I resign but want to become a member again in future?

Should you wish to re-apply for registration as a member of the College, you will be required to complete another application form, submit all of the required documentation, pay the prescribed fees and, meet the requirements for registration as a member of the College prescribed by the bylaws, processes and regulations in existence at the time you re-apply.

Q. I have paid fees to a professional association. Is there a discount for members of professional associations?

The College does not offer such discounts.