GPV/KCV is committed to amplifying the voices of kinship care families within government, improving the visibility of kinship carers and raising understanding of carer families and carers’ roles.
GPV/KCV calls for:
- The Victorian Government to increase the allowance to kinship carers to ensure parity with the allowance paid to foster carers
- The Victorian government to increase the Carer Allowance and for DFFH strengthen the Care Allowance assessment and payment processes to ensure assessments are conducted thoroughly and annually or as needs arise, and that equitable financial support is provided
- Provision, by the Australian Government, of free medicines for all children and young people in out of home care
- Review and extension, by the Victorian Government, of the benefits attached to the Victorian Carer Card
Financial support for kinship carers
There is a range of financial supports for kinship carers.
Check Kinship Carers Victoria’s resource booklet below, summarising all forms of financial assistance, both state and federal, for kinship carers.
Millions of Australians set to get boost in welfare payments from Centrelink
Australians on social security are set to receive more money in their pockets when payments are indexed.
Those on the age pension, disability support pension and carer payment will pocket an extra $19.60 for singles and $29.40 for couples combined each fortnight, come 20 March.
The maximum rate of the pension will go up to $1,116.30 for singles and $1,682.80 for couples each fortnight, when including the pension and energy supplements.
People on rent assistance, JobSeeker, single parenting payments and ABSTUDY will also receive an uptick in their payments.
An extra 77,000 parents are on a higher payment rate after eligibility was expanded to cover parents with a youngest child under 14 instead of eight in the last budget.
The single parenting payment will go up by $17.50 a fortnight.
Single JobSeeker recipients with no kids, and people over 22 on ABSTUDY, will get an extra $13.50 per fortnight.
Each member of a couple will get an additional $12.30 per fortnight.
Income and assets limits for the payments will also be increased in line with indexation on 20 March.
Indexation is an important measure to ensure welfare recipients have more money in their pockets, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said.
“Our number one priority is addressing inflation and cost of living pressures,” she said.
“Pension recipients are some of the most vulnerable members of our communities, many having worked all their lives contributing to our society or caring for a loved one.”
The complete list of payments increasing on 20 March 2024, including income and asset limits, can be found on the Department of Social Services website
Care and Protection Green Paper
Prepared by Caring Families Aoteareo – 2023
This report discusses the performance of New Zealand’s care and protection system and outlines proposals to make the system work better. It has been prepared by Caring Families Aotearoa, an organisation which represents the interests of caregivers and the children and young people they care for.
The care and protection system is the set of policies and institutions that are designed to look after children and young people who are not able to live with their parents for reasons of safety.
Championing Kinship Care
The National Kinship Care Strategy
Paper presented to the UK Parliament in Dec 2023 by the UK Department of Education
Support for grandparents and non-parents caring for children
