June Advocacy Wrap Up

CREATE was pleased to see a number of strong commitments and investments in the out-of-home-care sector and toward early intervention programs. However, greater investment is required nationally to meet the needs of children and young people in out-of-home care, and to support young care leavers in the face of Australia’s cost of living and housing affordability crisis. 

Budget highlights include:

• ACT’s Budget expanded programs to support young people in out-of-home care to transition to independent living. 
• The NSW Government prioritised $224.1 million to build a better foster care system, including reforming the out-of-home care sector. The Budget also included measures which will support free Working with Children Checks for volunteers, students on a professional placement, and potential adoptive parents or authorised carers.
• WA’s Budget allocated additional funding for Home Stretch WA to convert the existing pilot into an ongoing program and extending it to include eight Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) as well as three mainstream services, extending its regional coverage. The Budget also prioritised $6.6m funding over 2 years to continue the Health Navigator Pilot Program which CREATE is a proud contributor to. 
• Premier Allen’s first Victorian Budget 2024/25 prioritised children and families with $374 million allocated to protecting children and supporting families. The $198 million commitment to delivering more early intervention services to help keep families together is critical to interrupting prolonged cycles of contact with the out-of-home care system. 
• The South Australian Government allocated $70 million in 2023-24 to support children and young people in non-family-based care placements and $4.6 million over four years to the Guardian for Children and Young People to perform the statutory functions, Training Centre Visitor, and Child and Young Person’s Visitor.
• The Northern Territory Government used their Budget to fund a new model of care for youth detention, supporting young people to receive specialised care.
• The Queensland 2024-25 Budget showed a strong commitment to supporting children, young people and their families through the continuation of the Extended Post Care Support program, important focuses on early intervention, more support for foster and kinship carers and a pilot family reunification service.
• The Commonwealth Government’s 2024-25 Budget focused on easing the burden of the rising cost of living. CREATE however is concerned the broader package of support measures won’t trickle down to young people with a care experience, especially those who are in the midst of transitioning from care.