Victoria’s base carer allowance for level 1 (age group 0-7) is the lowest of any state/territory in the nation. (see summary below in Table 1)
Victoria’s first age range level is also the widest of any jurisdiction (0-7). This means that in Victoria a child has to turn 8 before an age-related allowance increase is applied to support their care.
A Victorian home based care placement receives substantially less per fortnight towards the costs of care for a 7-year-old child compared to other states:
ACT—$250
Queensland—$225
NSW—$190
Northern Territory—$122
Western Australia—$118
South Australia—$96
Tasmania—$86
Three states (NSW, Queensland, Tasmania) have a three-tiered payment structure based on the needs of the child or complexity of the placement.
NSW offers the simplest and most comprehensible payment structure with 3 levels of payments according to complexity and payments for ages which are roughly aligned to educational stages (eg 0-4 pre-school, 5-13 primary school, 14-15 (middle school) and 16-17 (senior high school).
All payment amounts for all states in the tables below are fortnightly.
Table 1: fortnightly base rates of each state/territory for first age range
State/territory | Amount | Age range |
|---|---|---|
ACT | $620 | 0-4 |
Queensland | $623 | 0-5 |
New South Wales | $564 | 0-4 |
Northern Territory | $531 | 0-5 |
South Australia | $499 | 0-4 |
Tasmania | $466 | 0-4 |
Western Australia | $478 (incl. clothing allowance) | 0-6 |
Victoria | $446 | 0-7 |
The amount the Victorian carer allowance falls behind other states continues as age-based increments occur.
Table 2: fortnightly base rate of each state for second age range
State/territory | Amount | Age range |
|---|---|---|
ACT | $696 | 5-14 |
Queensland | $671 | 6-10 |
NSW | $636 | 5-13 |
Northern Territory | $568 | 6-9 |
Western Australia | $564 (incl. clothing allowance) | 7-12 |
South Australia | $542 | 5-12 |
Tasmania | $532 | 5-11 |
Victoria | $462 | 8-10 |
The FCAV has recorded the Care Allowance rate over the past 4 financial years for the first age bracket (0-7) at Level 1. This includes the indexation rates that have been applied to the Care Allowance rates over the timeframe:
Year | Care Allowance Level 1 child 0-7 per fortnight | New rate | Percent increase | Amount increase per fortnight | Inflation (CPI)
| Increase if indexed to CPI | Real value decline per fortnight |
2021 | $410 | $418.68 | 2% | $8.68 | 3.8% | $15.58 | $6.90 |
2022 | $418.68 | $427.05 | 2% | $8.37 | 6.1% | $25.49 | $17.12 |
2023 | $427.05 | $435.59 | 2% | $8.54 | 7.0% | $29.89 | $21.35 |
2024 | $435.59 | $446.47 | 2.5% | $10.88 | 3.6% | $15.68 | $4.80 |
Total |
|
|
| $36.47 |
| $86.64 | $50.17 |
State and Territory OOHC Care Allowance Rates in Australia
New South Wales
https://www.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/noindex/2024-01/DCJ-care-allowances.pdf
South Australia
Queensland
Victoria
Australian Capital Territory
Western Australia
https://www.wa.gov.au/system/files/2023-07/fostering_financial_support_info.pdf
Northern Territory
https://tfhc.nt.gov.au/children-and-families/foster-care-current-payment-rates
Tasmania
Tasmania Care Allowance Rates
https://www.decyp.tas.gov.au/safe-children/out-of-home-care-in-tasmania/family-based-care/foster-care/
