SWD provides first response to human need

The ability to provide quality customer service is among the key requirements for candidates seeking a career with the Social Welfare Department (SWD).

The social security officer and assistant positions are the core departmental grades for delivering services to the public.

Officers implement policy and lead in the administration of services. They also manage the frontline operation of 38 social security field units under the administration of 11 District Social Welfare Offices and various units.

Assistants are responsible for the delivery of social security services to the general public, receiving, processing and investigating applications and handing out payments under various schemes.

Among the key tasks of the department is administering the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) scheme which provides monetary support for those in need on a means-tested basis, and the Social Security Allowance (SSA) scheme which provides largely non-means-tested allowances for the severely disabled and elderly. At the end of the 2010-11 financial year, CSSA handled 282,732 cases while SSA handled 642,979 cases.

Due to the huge number of cases, the complexity and huge expenditure involved, as well as the ever-rising expectations of recipients and the public, the SWD stresses a high level of competence in its employees.