Australia

For years, carers have been raising the alarm about the yawning gap between the care allowance and the actual costs of looking after children.

That gap has now been quantified, with a report from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (Aifs) finding that carer allowances around the country fall “significantly short of a meaningful contribution” to children’s care and urging they be increased as soon as possible.

Aifs estimated the direct costs of supporting children in out-of-home care, for different family structures, to achieve the same standard of living as other children. Those budgets were compared to the 2024 minimum weekly care allowance rates, which ranged from $231 in Victoria (the lowest) to $359 in the ACT (the highest). The national average was $292.

The foster and kinship care system in Australia needs a real overhaul. Let's hope this report makes the govt(s) take some meaningful action. In the back of my mind I'm thinking NDIS, NDIS.