This paper is based on a premise that social work practitioners in rural locations, especially those in remote areas, will often find themselves the subject of policy and resource decision- making processes that are not sympathetic to their situation. This is based on a lack of awareness of rural practice issues both from the inside as well as the outside of such contexts. Social workers in rural areas are in fact well placed to engage in imaginative and proactive rather than purely reactive types of practice. They can promote effective community capacity building as well as help individuals in need. If they are to achieve these potentials, they have to take responsibility for exploring such themes themselves, within frameworks and understandings created through professional training alongside proper recognition by employers.