About foster care
What you need to know about becoming a foster carer.
What is foster care?
Foster care is provided to children and young people who are unable to live with their own families. Foster carers support families by caring for children while parents get help to change.
For a period of time, foster carers take on the responsibilities of a parent to provide a safe, nurturing and secure family environment for children and young people needing care.
Foster carers are often in contact with the parents of the child or young person in their care. They also get involved in the decisions and planning for the child's care along with family and other important people in the child or young person's life.
We also need people to be parents forever for a child through guardianship or open adoption but foster carers are people willing to provide short-term and emergency care for children.
By working together, we can give every child and young person a safe, loving and permanent home in which they can thrive.
Aboriginal children
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people who come into out-of-home care must be placed according to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child and Young Person Placement Principles.
Watch: we need more carers like you
Foster Care Week 2016: thank you & we need more carers like you
You don’t have to be a superhero or a social worker to change a child or young persons life. You just need a big heart and a genuine desire to make a difference. If you're interested in finding out more, send an enquiry via our online form.