This study explores the transformation of the Swedish welfare model and its implications for social work practice. The development of the Swedish welfare model from the 1990s and onwards is characterised by deregulation, recommodification and a reverse distribution from the public to the private sector. Through an analysis of extensive data on welfare and wealth in Sweden, this study shows how the Swedish welfare model has changed profoundly as power, resources and influence have been reallocated away from the democratically governed public sector towards the market driven private sector. The Swedish universal welfare model has been replaced by a mixed welfare model with increasing market liberal elements. Some of the consequences are less equal distributions of education, healthcare and elderly care services, lower democratic influence and reduced possibilities for redistribution policies. Social work in Sweden has traditionally been carried out within the politically driven public sector. The discussion focuses on the implications for social work of the ongoing changes of social policies and the welfare sector.