As the peak body representing foster carers across Victoria, the FCAV urges all parties and candidates to commit to practical reforms ahead of the 2026 Victorian state election to strengthen care for children and young people in home-based care and better support their carers.
Carers providing intensive 24-hour care to children, many of whom have high or complex needs, need a well-funded and responsive system to support their role. We are calling for measures that minimise administrative and funding barriers and ensure carers can access help and services without navigating multiple obstacles.
Children and young people receive stable and quality care from a child protection system with a well-supported, resilient pool of carers.
We call for action across four priority areas.
Victoria’s base carer allowance remains the lowest in Australia, with the first age band (0–7) the widest nationally and unaligned to key life stages that increase the costs of care such as the commencement of primary school. Carers receive no increase until a child turns eight. Many foster carers pay for essentials such as clothing, school costs, recreational activities, and health needs out of their own savings.
The gap between the actual cost of providing care and the allowance available creates significant financial pressures for foster families. This can discourage prospective carers and contribute to the loss of experienced carers. Many households are required to cover everyday expenses that should be met by the State Government in its role as custodian and guardian of the children in care.
The current funding shortfall creates financial barriers that can limit participation for lower income households. These constraints may reduce the number and diversity of prospective carers and can affect children’s access to important developmental, educational and social opportunities.
Increasing the base allowance will help retain existing carers and attract new carers to meet the growing need for home-based care. In June 2025, the NSW government increased the base foster care allowance by 20%, recognising the critical role carers play and real costs associated with providing care.
We call for Victoria to similarly acknowledge the emotional, financial, and psychological commitment carers make when raising children and young people on behalf of the state, through:
An immediate increase to the base care allowance benchmarked against States with a similar a population size and demography such as NSW.
A review of age bands so payments reflect developmental life stages and associated costs.
Annual indexation linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of household inflation to keep pace with the cost of living.
Increase funding and clearer guidelines to the Client Expenses Funding Framework to reduce out-of-pocket costs and ensure children and young people in care have access to any vital extra supports they need.
Carers navigate complex administrative systems to secure essential supports for the children in their care. Processes for NDIS applications, including pathways such as “Thriving Kids”, are difficult and time consuming to navigate.
Obtaining passports and other identity documents often involves circular processes across departments. Carers spend significant time advocating within bureaucratic systems while also providing care.
Delays affect children’s access to disability supports, travel, education supports and legal identity. Administrative burdens contribute significantly to carer burnout. Exiting carers often report that “The children were not the reason, it was the system”. The extra time, expense, frustration and energy these efforts take is diverted from caregiving.
We call for:
Expansion of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing Care Support Help Desk to provide hands-on support with NDIS applications, including complex pathways.
Expansion of the Care Support Help Desk to provide dedicated assistance for passports and associated identity documentation.
Practical system navigation support to reduce delays and administrative load.
Victoria has the highest carer attrition rate nationally trending over many years, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data. There is no current whole-of-system plan to address this trend. Without a coordinated strategy, the sector continues to lose experienced carers faster than it recruits new ones. The result is placement instability which is a significant cost to the child protection system. Children are more likely to be placed in contingent, emergency, or residential care. Pressure grows on remaining carers and the broader system.
Carer sentiment strongly influences both recruitment (via poor word of mouth) and retention: carers who feel undervalued and unsupported are more likely to leave, amplifying shortages and reducing system stability.
Research conducted by the Cube Group: ‘The Economic Value of Foster Care — valuing something that really matters’ shows that less than two‑thirds of carers feel likely to continue providing care in the future, a trend directly linked to feeling undervalued by inadequate financial support.
We call for:
Reinstatement of the Victorian Carer Strategy with a strong recruitment and retention focus.
Investment in supports that sustain carers across the care journey.
Focus on the responsiveness and approach of the system toward carers’ needs.
Carers must be able to identify emerging needs early and access timely health, mental health and therapeutic supports. Children in care experience higher rates of physical and mental health issues, trauma, and complex behaviours. These needs often evolve over time.
Programs such as Pathways to Good Health play a critical role in assessing children when they enter care. However, many children develop or reveal additional needs after they have settled into placements. Needs commonly emerge at key developmental stages such as starting school or during adolescence. At these points, children and carers frequently face long waits for assessments and therapeutic support.
Access pathways remain fragmented. Priority access is inconsistent across regions and services. Carers often struggle to secure reassessment or timely intervention when concerns arise.
When supports are delayed, needs escalate. Placement stability is put at risk. Carers experience increased strain. Opportunities for early intervention are missed, with lasting impacts on children’s development and wellbeing.
A responsive system must support both early assessment at entry and priority reassessment throughout a child’s time in care. Carers need clear pathways and timely access to supports so children can heal and thrive in stable placements.
We call for:
Guaranteed priority access to health, mental health and therapeutic services for all children in care.
Priority reassessment pathways for children already in care when new or escalating needs are identified.
Dedicated funding for specialist assessments and therapeutic supports at all ages, with reduced or eliminated wait times.
Streamlined referral pathways across departments and services.
Action to remove systemic barriers that delay therapeutic intervention.
Strong support for carers is essential to a stable child protection system. Investment now will improve outcomes for children, strengthen placement stability, and support carer recruitment and retention.
