Become a foster carer
Provide safety and stability to children who cannot live safely at home
Your role as a foster carer
Foster carers are everyday people who generously open their homes to children who, for various reasons, cannot live safely with their birth family, resulting from abuse, neglect, parental illness or domestic violence. Often these children have experienced trauma and need compassion, support, and stability to heal and move forward. Foster carers may look after a child for weeks, months, or years until we can safely reunite them with their birth family.
As a foster carer, you take on a parental role, keeping the child’s best interests in mind at all times and providing a safe, loving home. You support the child’s development, help them explore their interests, encourage them to stay connected to their cultural identity and birth family, and provide a therapeutic approach.
If you’re thinking of becoming a foster carer, we’re here to support you step into this challenging, life-changing and rewarding role.
Wanslea foster carers have access to an extensive range of supports, including:
- 24/7 telephone access to an experienced Social Worker
- A dedicated Family Support Worker providing practical and emotional support
- Training and development
- Regular home visits by Wanslea staff, including Care Team Meetings
- Weekly subsidy payments
- Kartdjiin Mia Mia Library with cultural resources
- Foster Friends volunteer support
“I didn’t realise how important it was to have a team around you that you trust and can always rely on.
When I started fostering I didn’t realise what a big part Wanslea would play. At first I thought it was just a back up when you needed a bit of support, however, I quickly learnt that the staff at Wanslea really go above and beyond and I found myself reaching out sometimes daily when things were getting a little unsettled or I was feeling a little out of my depth.
My Family Support Worker and my Social Worker have been a consistent and positive support network through my 2 years working with Wanslea, anything from asking for some parenting advice or needing a little extra help when I can’t attend certain appointments.
I didn’t realise how important it was to have a team around you that you trust and can always rely on. I’ve found that if something exciting or confronting happens, the first thing I do is pick up the phone to call our team at Wanslea. Looking back I honestly could not have done it without Wanslea and am forever grateful.”
“As much as our role is to support and enrich the lives of the children, we feel they really add to our lives and feel privileged to meet them.
We have found that fostering with Wanslea has taught us stronger skills as parents to manage a variety of situations. We love how we have to reflect on our personal parenting skills to adapt for other children. We love how we meet different children who have each brought us new lessons, perspectives and skills. As much as our role is to support and enrich the lives of the children, we feel they really add to our lives and feel privileged to meet them.
We like that our children get to learn new skills and that they are able to see how others live. Our Family Support Worker is always on hand with support. She is honest and reliable and invaluable!!
We mostly deal with the Wanslea Duty Social Workers who are great at advocating for us when they feel the need and at times when we maybe would say yes to anything! We also love that they share our advocacy for the children with the case manager and provide feedback so we know they have.
(I would recommend others foster through Wanslea) a million times over! Not only do they hold great values, they support the children and carers and ensure that everyone is supported. They are child focused no matter what and are great advocates for the children in care!”
Our application process
1. Fill in an expression of interest
Please complete our online expression of interest enquiry form.
2. We’ll call you
A Wanslea member will call you within 24 hours to discuss your interest in fostering and answer your questions.
3. Application
Once the Wanslea team member has assessed you are suitable to proceed, we’ll ask you to complete an application form and will conduct an initial home visit. To ensure the safety of all children, you will need to pass a series of checks, assessments and interviews, as well as our training before you can become a Foster carer.
Wanslea welcomes applicants from all walks of life, single, married, divorced, co-habiting, LGBTQIA+ and from different religions, cultural and ethnic groups. People who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are strongly encouraged to apply. To be a foster carer, you need to be at least 21 years old and have Australian Citizenship or Permanent Residency.
You do not need a lot of space, but you will need to have a spare bedroom for a child as well as an area for play.
It can take up to 6 months from when you get in touch with us until we can approve you as a foster carer. During this period, you will be required to participate in training sessions, interviews conducted in your home and screening checks. Foster Carers are not able to care for children until the Foster Care panel is satisfied that they meet the competencies required.
Prospective foster carers are required to undergo a Police and Departmental record check, Working with Children check, a home safety check, personal referee checks and a health examination. Any adult household members must also undergo a Police and Departmental record check.
Foster carers receive a tax-free weekly reimbursement to cover a child’s daily care needs, in addition to covering all school, medical and clothing expenses. The subsidy rate varies depending on the child’s age.
Subject to the type of fostering you wish to provide and the child's needs and age, it is likely that you will be able to work either part-time or full time. All carers are expected to be able to respond to the needs of the children in their care including attendance at medical appointments, education, extracurricular activities and meetings.
we can refer you to a teletypewriter service.
Your experiences are valuable in helping us to understand the impact of our services. If you believe your rights have been violated or you have been subjected to unfair or discriminatory behaviour, let us know. We also welcome you to share anything that could benefit future program participants.
Our feedback and complaint process is confidential, and you can remain anonymous.
