From 1 July 2023, family-based carers will receive an additional $50 per fortnight for each child in their care under the age of 16.
This is on top of a 4.8 per cent increase to all carer payments to assist with growing cost of living pressures.
Foster carer Esma (pictured right) said the extra support was a “breath of fresh air”.
“For me, it’s fantastic because for instance, all of us work less because we’re caring for these children, and these children need us to be able to pick them up from school and things like that,” Esma said.
“Talking to other people it’s going to be great because some of them are living from pay to pay.
“All the foster carers I’ve met care so much about these children, they just want to give the best for them.”
The funding is part of $216.6 million for the child protection system in the 2023-24 State Budget.
It also includes $35.7 million over five years to provide intensive support services for families with children at risk of entering the child protection system, prioritising those living in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.
Other key measures are:
- $6.1 million over four years for the Stronger Start program, helping at-risk first-time parents at the earliest opportunity
- $4 million for an additional seven full-time equivalent staff to undertake additional kinship care assessments
- $2.1 million over four years to increase the capacity for services to safely reunite children and young people with their family after a period in care
- $1.9 million over three years to support the work to comply with the requirements of the National Redress Scheme, and
- $5.2 million over two years for new office accommodation in metropolitan Adelaide to meet staffing and community needs.
