Two-thirds of Australians think foster carers need to be 'extraordinary', while one in five wrongly believe working full-time or having no parenting experience makes them ineligible
New research released during NSW Foster and Kinship Care Week (30 August to 5 September 2026) reveals misconceptions about who can become a foster carer may be stopping Australians from putting their hand up.
The McCrindle survey*, commissioned by Wesley Mission, finds 67 per cent of Australians believe foster carers need to be extraordinary people with specialised skills, while just 17 per cent believe most ordinary Australians could become foster carers with the right training and support.
The research also finds more than one in five Australians believe working full-time (22 per cent) or having no parenting experience (21 per cent) automatically makes someone ineligible to foster.
Wesley Mission, one of the largest not-for-profit providers of out-of-home care in NSW, says the findings point to significant misconceptions about fostering at a time when more carers are needed to provide safe and supportive homes for children and young people.
Wesley Mission Managing Director - Community Services, Bay Warburton, says NSW Foster and Kinship Care Week is an opportunity to challenge the idea that fostering is only for a special type of person.
"While foster carers do extraordinary things, you do not need to be extraordinary to become one. You do not need to have all the answers or specialised skills before you begin. What matters is having the capacity to provide a safe, stable and caring home. We provide the training, guidance and 24/7 support.
"If people rule themselves out because they work full-time, have never parented or do not fit the image of a 'typical' foster carer, children and young people may miss out on people who could make a profound difference in their lives."
Wesley Mission foster carer, Mandy Crowley and her husband Paul, had no parenting experience when they opened their home to two brothers, then aged five years and 18 months.
"We had no parenting experience when we became foster carers, but we had the training and support we needed. Nine years later, the boys are still with us. You do not need to have been a parent to make a difference in a child's life," says Mandy.
Bay Warburton also knows first-hand that there is no typical foster family.
A former foster carer and now adoptive father, Bay and his wife opened their home to Willow when she was just over one year old, at a time when their four boys were in high school.
"We could easily have looked at where we were in life and decided our parenting years were behind us. Instead, we opened our home to Willow and it changed our family forever.
"Foster carers are not one age, one type of family or at one stage of life. What matters is what you can offer a child who needs safety, stability and someone in their corner," says Bay.
The survey reveals other misconceptions about eligibility. Seventeen per cent believe being over 55 automatically makes someone ineligible to foster, while 12 per cent nominate being retired, 10 per cent being single, 9 per cent having children of their own, 8 per cent renting their home and 7 per cent working part-time.
"There will be people reading these figures who have thought about fostering and assumed they would not qualify. Please do not rule yourself out. Take the first step and find out if fostering could be right for you."
