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This article argues that the politics of the ‘right to difference’ and celebration of diversity in social work is a malign tendency that is symptomatic of the malaise of postmodernism and other fashionable trends in human rights discourse. It is suggested that a normative concept of human rights as worked through postmodern preoccupations with difference and diversity is a morally bankrupt perspective. The fixation of the ‘right to difference’ in social work runs parallel with neoliberalism with its celebration of diversity. The article offers a set of conceptual devices for rethinking social work ethics through the writings of Alain Badiou. His subtractive ontology of truth is presented as an essentialist alternative to the relativist discourses of difference. If social work is to recover a progressive stance, we must reinstall the concepts of sameness and equality. Therefore, social work should be ‘indifferent to differences’ by transcending the politics of difference.

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Summary This article reports on a large survey of Australian social workers regarding their attitudes to evidence-based practice and thoughts on the factors affecting its implementation in human service organisations. Findings Findings from a national survey of Australian social workers found a degree of support for evidence-based practice with the majority of respondents reporting changes in practice due to the influence of research. A sample size of 364 social workers formed the basis of the final analysis. Both the support for evidence-based practice and the reported changes in practice due to new evidence was highest among social workers in management positions and those with between 10 and 30 years is needed post-qualifying practice experience. The survey also found, however, an unsophisticated understanding of evidence and evidence-based practice and ‘inadequate’ skills in the critical appraisal of research. Applications Despite the level of support for evidence-based practice, responses to open-ended questions reflected reservations about the formalisation, relevance, useability, and applicability of the EBP agenda among social workers. Given that the issues relating to the transfer of research to practice appear far more complex than EBP suggests, this study sought to understand the complex dynamics of the research transfer process in social work and the human services.