- The Crisafulli Government launches Professional Foster Care pilot program to ensure vulnerable Queensland children with complex needs have the care and support they need.
- The new initiative will help transition children with disabilities and complex needs out of Labor's broken residential care system and into family-based care.
- Up to 100 professional foster carers will be sought initially across two locations, South-East Queensland and Townsville.
- The Crisafulli Government is unwinding Labor's decade of decline by supporting Queensland's most vulnerable children.
The Crisafulli Government is delivering on a key election commitment to fix Labor's broken child safety system by launching the Professional Foster Care pilot today.
The pilot program is just one of the ways the Crisafulli Government is delivering action on Labor's broken child safety system, which during their decade of decline, spiraled out of control with no viable plan for residential care.
The $27 million pilot program will see foster carers paid to care for some of the State's most vulnerable children, a key election commitment made under the Safer Children, Safer Communities plan.
The Crisafulli Government's Safer Children, Safer Communities plan is protecting Queensland's most vulnerable children and repairing the broken system that is putting communities at risk, with further reforms including:
- The development of a SecureCare facility,
- The rolling out of a dual-carer model in residential care facilities,
- Delivering a $1,500 boost for extracurricular activities for kids in foster and kinship care,
- The conversion of residential care providers from IPS to OSD arrangements
- Increasing child safety officer numbers by 20 per cent.
Professional foster carers will be sought to care for children with neurodiversity (Autism, ADHD and FASD), intellectual, sensory and psychosocial disabilities.
They will also care for children with complex needs, including trauma-related behaviours, self-harm, aggression and difficulties regulating emotions.
Minister for Child Safety Amanda Camm said the professional foster carer program was critical in protecting some of Queensland's most vulnerable children.
"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," Minister Camm said.
"During a decade of decline the former Labor Government failed children in their care, without a plan for the State's most vulnerable kids and an ever-growing residential care system.
"The shocking growth in residential care into a billion-dollar industry and the terrible outcomes for children in those arrangements is the legacy of the Labor Government.
"The Crisafulli Government is placing these children in homes with professional foster carers, as part of our reforms to the Labor's broken child safety system.
"Ultimately, this is about delivering better outcomes for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Queensland."
Member for Mundingburra and Assistant Minister for Community Safety Janelle Poole APM said this was about giving children the stability and support they deserve, instead of leaving them in a system that has continually let them down.
"As a former police officer, I've seen firsthand what happens when vulnerable children fall through the cracks," Ms Poole said.
"Our professional foster care pilot will provide specialised, consistent care for kids with complex needs, helping to steer them away from harm, improving their outcomes and strengthening our families.
"That's how we deliver safer communities where we live for all Queenslanders."
Member for Thuringowa Natalie Marr said she welcomed Townsville being chosen as one of the locations for the pilot program, which is healing Labor's broken system.
"We have dedicated carers in Townsville that will welcome this," Ms Marr said.
"In response to strong community feedback and concerns raised by Queensland families including Townsville, the Crisafulli Government has listened and is delivering targeted support for vulnerable children with complex needs."
Member for Townsville Adam Baillie said the Crisafulli Government was committed to supporting young people and carers who are part of the child safety system, after a decade of decline under the former Labor Government.
"This professional foster care pilot is about helping our most vulnerable children with disabilities and complex needs transition out of residential care and into family-based care," Mr Baillie said.
Member for Hinchinbrook Wayde Chiesa said the launch of the pilot program was an important step towards repairing Labor's broken child safety system.
"This is about giving some of our most vulnerable children access to more specialised, stable and therapeutic care, while recognising the critical role foster carers play in changing lives," Mr Chiesa said.
"For communities across North Queensland, having Townsville included means this support will be closer to home for local children and families, and I thank Minister Amanda Camm for driving this important reform."
Life Without Barriers' Deputy Chief Executive of Child Youth and Family Services Carly Jacobitz said every child desereved the chance to grow up feeling safe, support and connected to family and culture.
"An essential way that can be achieved for some children is with valued foster and kinship carers, dedicated to supporting them in what is a difficult time in their lives," Ms Jacobitz said.
"Life Without Barriers has been working with foster carers for decades, and supporting carers is critical to the outcomes of all children in out-of-home care.
"We are very supportive of the Queensland Government's investment in supporting children with complex needs by providing a caring, family‑based alternative that is backed by skilled carers who have the right support to help young people thrive."
The pilot will initially be rolled out in South-East Queensland and Townsville from April 2026.
