Foster Care Allowance Rates South Australia 2025–2026

The money question is the one nobody wants to ask at an information session, and it is rarely answered clearly on agency websites. So here it is, directly: what does the DCP actually pay, what does it cover, and where will you end up out of pocket?

Foster care payments in South Australia are a cost reimbursement, not a wage. The Department for Child Protection (DCP) sets the rates, and they are paid fortnightly regardless of which agency you are registered with.

Base rates effective 1 July 2025

The base rate is intended to cover food, utilities, basic clothing, pocket money, and everyday incidentals. It is calculated on the assumption that the child has relatively standard needs. For the majority of children in care — who have experienced trauma, neglect, or abuse — standard needs is rarely an accurate description.

Special needs loadings

When a child is assessed as having physical, intellectual, or behavioural complexities that require additional resources, the DCP can apply a special needs loading on top of the base rate. The loading is expressed as a percentage of the base rate and is reviewed periodically.

These loadings exist precisely because the DCP acknowledges that caring for a child with complex needs costs more. The problem is that they are not automatically applied. You need to request an assessment through your DCP caseworker, document the child's specific needs, and follow up consistently if the initial request is not progressed.

Carers who do not know these loadings exist — or who feel uncomfortable asking — often absorb hundreds of dollars per month in costs they are entitled to claim. This is one of the most common financial gaps in the SA system.

Additional periodic payments

Beyond the fortnightly base rate and loadings, carers receive several supplementary payments:

Placement start-up payment: A one-off payment when a new child comes into your care, to help with immediate costs like bedding, basic clothing, and toiletries. Rates range from $120 to $236 depending on the child's age.

Education grant: Paid per school term. Rates are $82 per term for children aged 0–4, $222 per term for ages 5–12, and $288 per term for ages 13 and over. This is intended to cover school books, uniforms, stationery, and basic extracurricular costs.

Activity grant: An annual payment of $112, typically paid in August, to assist with sports, music, or hobby costs.

Is the foster care payment taxable?

No. Under ATO Taxation Determination TD2006/62, foster care payments from state and territory governments are classified as non-assessable income. You do not declare them as income for tax purposes, and they do not affect your marginal tax rate.

Importantly, because these payments are not income, they do not reduce your eligibility for Centrelink benefits. Foster carers remain eligible for the Family Tax Benefit (Part A and B) and the School Card, and the foster care payments do not count toward the income test for either.

This is a significant financial advantage that many prospective carers are not aware of when they are weighing up whether they can afford to foster.

Respite carer payments

Respite carers — those who provide short-term relief for primary carers, typically one weekend per month or during school holidays — receive a separate payment structure. Rates are generally in the range of $70–$150 per weekend depending on the child's age and needs, though the exact amount is set by the agency under DCP guidelines.

Respite care is often how South Australians begin their fostering journey before committing to a full-time placement.

The real costs the base rate does not cover

Research into the actual financial experience of SA foster carers consistently identifies several categories of cost that the payment structure does not adequately address:

Gap payments for therapy: Children in care frequently require psychological support. Wait times for DCP-funded or NDIS-funded therapy are long, and many carers pay privately for sessions at rates of $180–$250 per hour. The base rate does not budget for this.

Travel for birth family contact: Foster carers are expected to facilitate supervised contact visits between children and their birth families. In metropolitan Adelaide this might be an hour-long commitment. For carers in regional South Australia — Port Augusta, Mount Gambier, or the Eyre Peninsula — a single contact visit can consume an entire day, including petrol costs that are only partially reimbursed.

Initial setup costs: The start-up payment is modest. A proper bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and the basic equipment a child needs to feel settled in a new room typically exceeds the one-off payment. Carers routinely supplement this from their own funds.

Specialist medical expenses: Children with complex medical histories sometimes require specialist appointments, prescription medications, or adaptive equipment. Coordination between the DCP, Medicare, and the child's existing healthcare providers takes time, and gaps in coverage appear in the interim.

Advocating for the right payment level

The financial system in South Australia is not passive — it requires active engagement from carers. If a child in your care has higher needs than the base rate reflects, the process for seeking a loading review involves:

1. Documenting the specific costs and behaviours you are managing.
2. Raising the matter with your Carer Support Worker at your NGO.
3. Formally requesting a loading assessment through your DCP caseworker.
4. Following up in writing if there is no response within a reasonable timeframe.

Carers who treat the payment structure as fixed — rather than as a starting point for negotiation based on the child's actual needs — consistently report greater financial strain.

The South Australia Foster Care Guide includes a Financial Advocacy Checklist designed to help you document your expenses and request the correct loading level from your DCP caseworker — so you are not covering costs that the system is designed to reimburse.

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