Cap. 468 Art. 9Discipline.

(1) The Board may set up a committee to inquire into any alleged professional misconduct, gross negligence or incompetence in relation to both registered social workers and social workers.

(2) For the purposes of this article, the terms ''professional misconduct'', ''gross negligence'', or ''incompetence'', include the following:

(a) obtaining a warrant in a deceitful or fraudulent manner;

(b) contravention against the Code of Ethics established under this Act;

(c) failure to comply with regulations with respect to professional standards or practice;

(d) failure to comply with any condition attached to the warrant issued under this Act;

(e) use of therapeutic interventions or assumption of professional competence for which the person is not qualified or the person concerned is not authorised to practise in terms of his warrant;

(f) acting in a manner which may be detrimental to the social work profession;

(g) displaying lack of knowledge, skill or judgement in the practice of the profession of social work or in carrying out of a duty or obligation undertaken in the practice of social work.

(3) Any registered social worker, or social worker, as the case may be, who is the subject of any inquiry carried out by the Board shall be given all the opportunity to make his defence and bring any evidence in his favour and for such purpose he may be represented by a lawyer or by any other person of his choice.

(4) On the conclusion of the inquiry, the committee shall decide whether there are sufficient grounds to find the registered social worker under inquiry guilty of professional misconduct, gross negligence or incompetence. In the affirmative, the committee shall make a report of its decision and shall commit such person for further inquiry by the Board together with its recommendations on the penalty to be imposed, and, in the negative, recommend that no further inquiry is to be undertaken.

(5) The penalties mentioned in the foregoing sub-article may include:

(a) the suspension or cancellation of the warrant subject to such conditions as may be recommended;

(b) the suspension or cancellation of the registration of a partnership of registered social workers;

(c) the imposition of conditions to be attached to a warrant;

(d) a reprimand;

(e) a payment to cover the costs of the inquiry;

(f) an order for the waiver, reduction or refund of any fees charged for services rendered; or

(g) any other penalty as may be prescribed.

(6) On the cancellation of the warrant of a registered social worker the Board shall strike off the name of such person from the official register of registered social workers.

(7) In regard to a social worker, the committee shall also be competent to decide whether such social worker failed to comply with the requirements set out in the proviso to article 3(1), and upon a recommendation made by the committee to that effect, the powers of the Board under this article to impose a penalty shall include the power to direct any one or more of the following measures, that is:

(a) order that such person suspends his practice of the profession of social work for such period of time as the Board may determine;

(b) order that such person undergoes such period of additional training;

(c) a caution;

(d) a penalty of not less than three hundred euro (€300) and not exceeding seven hundred euro (€700);

(e) any other penalty as may be prescribed.

(8) For the purpose of this article, the members of the Board have the powers that are or may be conferred under the Inquiries

Act, and shall conduct their inquiry as provided for in the said Act.