A national coalition of child and family organisations, carers and advocates will bring 440 pairs of children’s shoes to Parliament House today, calling for practical national reforms to strengthen foster and kinship care and ensure children can access stable, supported family-based care.

Each pair of shoes represents approximately 100 of the more than 44,000 children and young people living in out-of-home care across Australia.

The number of children entering care remains steady, while the number of new and active foster carers has declined by 21 per cent since 2017, increasing the urgency of growing and sustaining Australia’s community of foster and kinship carers.

The sector warns that without coordinated national action, more children who cannot safely live at home will be left without access to stable, family-based care, placing greater pressure on already stretched carers and increasing reliance on residential care.

Families Australia and the National Foster Care Sustainability Group (NFCSG) are calling for practical reforms including a portable Passport to Care, better access to health and therapeutic services, reduced financial pressure on carers, and fairer workplace leave arrangements for foster and kinship carers.

The visual installation comes as the sector calls on the Federal Government to work with states and territories to deliver three practical reforms:

The National Foster Care Sustainability Group, established by Families Australia and comprising leaders from foster care organisations across the country, has spent the past year meeting with parliamentarians, engaging government agencies, undertaking economic modelling and elevating the voices of carers and young people with lived experience to highlight the growing pressures facing the care system.

For more, visit futureoffostercare.org.au.

Families Australia CEO Suzanne Greenwood said Australia is facing a national crisis in foster and kinship care, with 44,000 children and young people in out-of-home care and the number of foster carers continuing to decline.

“This is a crisis hiding in plain sight. Thousands of children who have experienced abuse, neglect or family violence are relying on a family-based care system that is under serious and growing pressure,” Ms Greenwood said.

“Family-based care is the best option for children who cannot safely live with their families, but foster and kinship carers are being asked to carry enormous financial, emotional and administrative burdens without the practical support they need.”

“Children in care often have complex health, developmental and therapeutic needs. Too many are missing out on timely support because systems are fragmented, difficult to navigate and inconsistent across jurisdictions.”

Ms Greenwood said the National Foster Care Sustainability Group had put forward practical reforms that could help stabilise the foster and kinship care system and deliver better outcomes for children.

“We are calling for a portable Passport to Care so children can access the services and supports they are entitled to wherever they live, and as they move through care, reunification or transition to adulthood,” Ms Greenwood said.

“We also need better access to health, dental, disability and therapeutic supports; action to reduce the financial and tax uncertainty facing carers; and fair workplace leave arrangements so foster and kinship carers can balance caring responsibilities with paid employment.”

“If we want more Australians to open their homes to children who need safety, stability and healing, we have to remove the barriers that make caring harder than it needs to be.”

“These are sensible, achievable reforms. They would ease pressure on carers, help recruit and retain more families, reduce the risk of children being pushed into higher-cost residential care, and give children in care a better chance to be healthy, well and thriving.”

Sarah Witty MP, Member for Melbourne who is a foster carer and the co-convenor of the group said the Parliamentary Friendship Group plays a vital role in highlighting the challenges facing foster carers and the children they care for.

“I am proud to support the Parliamentary Friends of Foster Carers and Children in Foster Care. This is about shining a light on the real challenges families face, and committing to solutions that put children first,” said Ms Witty.

According to the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data, the number of children entering care remains steady, but the number of new and active foster carers has declined by 21% since 2017.

“Without action, this decline will continue, leaving too many vulnerable children without access to stable, home-based care,” she said.

“Foster carers across Australia are doing extraordinary work under enormous pressure.”

“The Parliamentary Friends of Foster Carers and Children in Foster Care is an opportunity for us to come together across party lines to push for practical, evidence-based reforms that support carers and deliver better outcomes for kids. This is not a partisan issue, it’s a human one.”

NFCSG Chair Dr Lisa J. Griffiths said Australia’s foster and kinship care system is under increasing pressure, with fewer carers available and more children at risk of being pushed into higher-cost residential care settings.

“This is not a challenge any one jurisdiction can solve alone. Governments have an opportunity to work together on practical, achievable reforms that would make an immediate difference for children in care and the families who support them,” Dr Griffiths said.

“The recent Australian Institute of Family Studies review makes clear what carers have been telling us for years: caring for a child in out-of-home care costs significantly more than current allowances recognise, and carers are being forced to navigate complex and inconsistent systems to access the support children need.”

“The solutions are clear. We need better access to health, dental, disability and therapeutic supports for children in care; action to reduce the financial and tax uncertainty facing carers; and fair workplace leave arrangements so foster and kinship carers can balance caring responsibilities with paid employment.”

“If we want to recruit and retain more carers, and keep children in safe, stable family-based care where possible, we have to remove the barriers that make caring harder than it needs to be.”

“Foster and kinship carers are not asking for recognition alone. They are asking for practical support so they can give children safety, stability and the help they need to recover and thrive,” Ms Jebb said.

“I know the pressures carers face are real, immediate and growing, from the cost of caring to the difficulty of accessing health, therapeutic and specialist supports for children with complex needs.”

“When those supports are delayed, inconsistent or hard to access, children miss out and carers are pushed to breaking point. That is why national action matters.”

MEDIA CONTACTS

The group is co-convened by Sarah Witty MP, Senator Maria Kovacic and Kate Chaney MP, and comprises a broad cross-section of influential Federal Members of Parliament and Senators from across party lines. Members include:

The National Foster Care Sustainability Group was established by leading national peak body Families Australia, to collectively advocate for the strategic federal levers necessary to unlock substantial gains for the state and territory child protection systems. Members are: