Family First is calling on the Allan Labor Government to show respect to Victoria's foster carers and urgently fix the broken system that is driving them away.
Victorian foster carers are quitting at twice the rate new ones can be recruited, leaving vulnerable children without stable homes.
Family First Upper House candidate, Jane Foreman, herself a foster care mum, said the government's treatment of long-serving carers like "Sara" — whose support payments were slashed without notice — was "disgraceful and un-Australian."
"For 18 years Sara and her family opened their hearts and home to hundreds of children who had suffered abuse and trauma," Ms Foreman said. "Instead of gratitude, she was repaid with disrespect — sudden cuts to allowances, no explanation, and bureaucratic indifference. This is how the Victorian Government thanks people who care for our most vulnerable kids."
Payments to carers for high-needs children have reportedly been cut by up to 75 per cent, forcing families to bear the costs of therapy, medical care, and education themselves. Victoria already spends less per child on care services than any other state or territory.
"When the government short-changes carers, it's the children who suffer," Ms Foreman said. "Foster families shouldn't be treated like a budget line — they are the backbone of child protection. If we keep driving them away, more children will end up in residential care, where outcomes are tragically worse."
Family First is calling on Minister for Children Lizzie Blandthorn to immediately reinstate the full support payments and to consult carers directly before making policy decisions that affect them.
"Foster carers deserve respect, fair treatment, and certainty — not bureaucratic betrayal," Ms Foreman said.
