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Queensland foster care pilot spends $1.7m to employ just three carers in five months

Professional Foster Care Pilot Program aimed to hire up to 100 paid carers but has only placed three since April launch

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time2 min
Sources2 outlets
A Queensland government initiative to create professional foster carers for children with complex needs has employed only three people in five months at a cost of $1.7 million, according to documents tabled in state parliament.

The Professional Foster Care Pilot Program was announced in April by Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm, who pledged $27 million over four years to recruit up to 100 paid carers in south-east Queensland and Townsville. Carers were to earn up to $100,000.

"Every child deserves the opportunity to thrive in a safe, supportive and loving environment, and that's what this initiative will deliver for children with high needs," Camm said at the time.

The program was an election promise by the then-Crisafulli opposition, which pledged to reduce the number of children in state care.

In response to a question on notice from Labor MP Corrine McMillan about how many carers were working and how much of the $4.9 million budgeted for the 2025-26 financial year had been spent, Camm revealed that only three professional foster carers had commenced as of September 30.

"In the 2025-26 financial year, $1.741 million [excluding GST] was expended to rapidly establish and operationalise three Professional Foster Care services, which immediately commenced targeted recruitment efforts," Camm said in her parliamentary response.

She noted that some of the funding had also gone to volunteer foster carers in Mackay, though the exact amount is unclear.

The program is being delivered by Uniting Care and Key Assets Australia in Brisbane, and Life Without Barriers in Townsville.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • Taxpayers have spent $1.7 million for just three carers, raising questions about value for money in a program budgeted at $27 million over four years.
  • Thousands of Queensland children remain in residential care homes; this pilot was intended as an alternative for the most at-risk children.
  • The slow rollout could undermine the government's election promise to reduce the number of children in state care.

Background

The Professional Foster Care Pilot Program was announced in April by the Crisafulli government as a way to move children with complex needs out of residential care and into paid, professionally supported foster placements. The model involves employing carers on salaries rather than paying foster care allowances, with the aim of attracting dedicated, full-time carers. The program is a central part of the government's child safety reform agenda.

Key Perspectives

[Queensland Government/Minister Amanda Camm]: The minister defends the expenditure as necessary to establish the program's infrastructure and start targeted recruitment. She argues the pilot is still in its early stages and that the three services are now actively seeking more carers. [Labor Opposition/MP Corrine McMillan]: By asking the question on notice, Labor highlights the gap between the government's ambitious target of 100 carers and the actual outcome of three. The low number suggests the program is struggling to attract participants despite significant upfront costs. [Child Welfare Critics]: The high cost per carer raises concerns about whether public money is being used efficiently. Critics may argue that the government rushed the announcement without a realistic recruitment plan, and that children in need continue to wait.

What to Watch

  • Recruitment numbers over the coming months: will the three services meet their targets, or will the pilot remain a small-scale operation?
  • Further parliamentary questions or an audit of the program's spending and outcomes.
  • The impact on the number of children in residential care: the government's ultimate measure of success.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

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