Journal profile · SOCIAL WORK
Australian Social Work
ISSN 0312-407X · eISSN 1447-0748 · Taylor & Francis
Australian Social Work: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.29; JCR Q1 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 202 days to acceptance (71 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 35% (journal website); 71 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Australian Social Work is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Social Work Education and Practice, Homelessness and Social Issues and Healthcare innovation and challenges, together about 41.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are General Health Professions. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Australian Social Work is an international peer-reviewed journal reflecting current thinking and trends in Social Work practice and research. The Journal promotes the development of Social Work practice, policy, and education, and publishes original research, theoretical papers and critical reviews that build on existing knowledge. The Journal also publishes reviews of relevant professional literature, analyses of social policies, and commentary invited by the Editor, including debate in the form of reader commentary on articles. Australian Social Work has grown out of the Australian context and continues to provide a vehicle for Australian and international authors to publish on Social Work. The Journal invites submission of manuscripts from authors worldwide. All contributors are required to identify the relevance and implications of their work for Australian and international Social Work practice. The aims and scope of Australian Social Work demonstrate commitment to acknowledging and understanding the historical and contemporary injustice and disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the implications of this for knowledge development, practice, policy, and education. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors’ contributions to the Journal are highly valued. Acknowledgement of Country: We acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the First Australians, whose lands, winds, and waters we all now share, and pay respect to their unique values, and their continuing and enduring cultures, which deepen and enrich the life of our nation and communities. Peer Review Policy: All articles in this journal have undergone a rigorous anonymous peer review process which involves initial screening by the Editors, expert review by a minimum of two anonymous reviewers and plagiarism screening. The Editor conducts a final review and makes the final decision to publish according to the journal’s publishing criteria.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): SOCIAL WORK
Editor-in-chief Susan GairPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Australia 7, United States 1, New Zealand 1 (9 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Social Work Education and PracticeSocial Sciences27.2%
- Homelessness and Social IssuesHealth Professions7.8%
- Healthcare innovation and challengesSocial Sciences6.6%
- Research in Social SciencesSocial Sciences6.1%
- Mental Health and Patient InvolvementHealth Professions5.4%
- Child Abuse and TraumaPsychology4.6%
- Child Welfare and AdoptionSocial Sciences4.2%
- Interprofessional Education and CollaborationHealth Professions4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Work | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Work | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Work | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q1 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PsycINFOCINAHLPublisher website
Other: OCLC, APAIS: Australian Public Affairs Information Service, ASSIA: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, Social Work Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Australian Education Index (Online), Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature, Ecology Abstracts (Bethesda), Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management, Family Index, Journal Citation Reports / Social Sciences Edition, Ovid, Research into Higher Education Abstracts, Risk Abstracts (Online Edition), Social scisearch®, Swets Information Services, Thomson Gale (Gale Group)
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.29LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.71LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.71Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.17LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.17Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 68OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 788OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.17OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 26.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 27.2%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 50LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 444,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,885 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 42 | 23 | 3 |
| 2025 | 71 | 33 | 134 |
| 2024 | 66 | 31 | 251 |
| 2023 | 53 | 35 | 318 |
| 2022 | 38 | 10 | 275 |
| 2021 | 89 | 24 | 683 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
202 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 156 days – 278 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 42 days (71 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 251 days
- Sample
- 71 articles with submission and acceptance dates (119 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 35%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 49 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 62 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 73 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Australian Social Work is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Rigorous anonymous peer review process with initial screening by the Editors, expert review by a minimum of two anonymous reviewers, plagiarism screening, and final review and decision by the Editor. Model summary
All articles in this journal have undergone a rigorous anonymous peer review process which involves initial screening by the Editors, expert review by a minimum of two anonymous reviewers and plagiarism screening. The Editor conducts a final review and makes the final decision to publish according to the journal’s publishing criteria.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 0312-407X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1447-0748
- Society / sponsor
- Australian Association of Social Workers
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 79, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Australian Social Work
What CAS zone is Australian Social Work in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Australian Social Work is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Social Work. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Australian Social Work?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.29; CiteScore 4.7, h-index 68.
How long does peer review take at Australian Social Work?
Based on the dates recorded on 71 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 202 days (interquartile range 156–278 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 35%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Australian Social Work in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q1 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 4 of Sociology.
Where are the editorial board members of Australian Social Work based?
Of the 9 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Australia (7), United States (1) and New Zealand (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Australian Social Work?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Australian Social Work is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PsycINFO and CINAHL; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Australian Social Work open access, and what is the APC?
Australian Social Work is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .