Foster care

Foster care is temporary care of children by trained, assessed and accredited foster carers. Victorian foster carers play a vital role in our community, providing a safe and nurturing home to children and young people who cannot live with their birth family.

Children and young people requiring foster care can be of any age (up to 18 years), and can come from various cultural, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds.

Children and young people are placed in foster care for a range of reasons, and foster care can occur as a result of a court order, or through a voluntary arrangement between the child or young person's parent and a service provider. It could be overnight, for a month or longer – it all depends on the needs of the child.

Becoming a foster carer

All around Victoria, everyday people are opening their hearts and their homes to children and young people who cannot live with their families. But many more foster carers are needed.

Anyone who can offer a child or young person with a safe and caring environment can apply to become a foster carer. You don’t have to be in a relationship or have a big house – we need carers from all walks of life, backgrounds, ages and experiences.

The Information for foster carers page provides an overview of the many supports and resources available to help foster carers in their important role.

Foster care agencies

Foster care agencies are responsible for:   

• Supporting foster carers   
• Meeting the protection and care needs of children and young people in foster care   
• Working in collaboration with Child protection and the child or young person's family to ensure the child’s best interests are met.

We fund foster care agencies to recruit and support foster carers.  

Victoria's foster care agencies came together as Fostering Connections in early 2016 to make it easier to find out more about becoming a foster carer.

Care Support Help Desk

The Care Support Help Desk are here to give tailored support to statutory Foster and Kinship carers caring for children and young people who are in care. The team will make sure they have critical documents they need when starting a care placement.

Staff will help existing statutory carers track vital documents for children in care, including Medicare details and birth certificates.

The Care Support Help Desk operates during business hours, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm.

Dedicated teams are located across the state. Find your closest team in the ‘Contacts’ section on the right-hand side of this page.

If you have an issue with your placement, call your agency first or child protection where applicable.

Further information on the Care Support Help Desk can be found under the heading 'Related resources'

Foster care reform

The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (the Department) is implementing a series of reforms to the Victorian foster care system from 1 July 2025.

These reforms will deliver enhanced therapeutic and specialised support, and improved outcomes for carers, and children and young people in care.

From 1 July 2025, the Department will:

• Establish 200 new therapeutic foster care placements, to more than double the existing therapeutic foster care placement capacity in the Victorian system. This will provide carers, and children and young people in foster care, with additional specialist support.
• Pilot 20 carer support networks for 120 to 200 foster carers and kinship carers. This pilot will draw on existing evidence-based models to enable localised peer-based support, respite care, social activities, and informal advice between foster carers.

Service provider partners to deliver these new placements and support networks will be selected through upcoming competitive procurement processes.

These reform actions are a step towards the long-term vision of a modernised Victorian foster care system.

These reforms will help improve the lives of children and young people in the foster care system with complex therapeutic needs, and boost support for Victorian foster families to continue opening their hearts and homes.

What is therapeutic foster care?

Therapeutic foster care is an enhanced volunteer foster care model where foster carers are provided with additional specialist training and support to care for children and young people.

Establishing 200 new therapeutic foster care placements more than doubles the existing therapeutic foster care placement capacity in the Victorian system.

Therapeutic foster care includes additional training and support for foster carers, including:

• access to a therapeutic specialist to support the carer and enhance the level of care provided to the child or a young person with previous experiences of trauma
• increased minimum financial supports
• additional training to support foster carers to deliver a therapeutic model of care.

Providing access to therapeutic specialists will enable carers to better understand and develop strategies to best meet the needs of the child or young person who may have experienced trauma, abuse or any severe disruption prior their placement.

What are carer support networks?

A carer support network has 6-10 carers who are supported by one highly experienced foster carer.

The pilot approach will enable the model to be tested and refined in a Victorian context with both foster and kinship carers.

International and emerging Australian evidence has supported the effectiveness of this carer support network approach, in delivering more stable placements, improved carer wellbeing and improved carer retention.

These networks will also help maintain connections between children, young people, and their family members, to assist in facilitating continuing relationships and eventual reunification.

Funding allocation for Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations

In line with the Department’s commitment to deliver proportional funding for Aboriginal organisations to support Aboriginal children and young people, 30 percent of the funding will be allocated to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to build capacity and enhance therapeutic supports for Aboriginal children and young people in care.

This dedicated funding allocation will support more Aboriginal children and young people in care services to be placed in Aboriginal care. As well as the development and testing of culturally safe and supportive delivery approaches for Aboriginal children and families.