Foster Care Perth: How to Become a Carer in Western Australia
Most people in Perth who start thinking about foster care spend months reading Department of Communities web pages and bookmarking agency websites — and then never actually make the call. The system looks complicated from the outside, and frankly, it is. But the complication is navigable once you understand how it's structured.
This guide explains how foster care works in Perth, who runs it, what the assessment process actually involves, and what you'll be expected to do once you're authorised.
How the Perth Foster Care System Is Organised
Western Australia's system is split between the Department of Communities (DoC) — the central government body — and a network of contracted non-government agencies (NGAs). You can register to foster with either.
The Department of Communities manages its own pool of carers directly, with district offices across the Perth metro area including Joondalup, Midland, Fremantle, and Rockingham. Departmental carers work with child protection workers assigned to their district.
The NGAs operate alongside the Department and are contracted to recruit, assess, train, and support their own carers. They include organisations like Wanslea (now operating as Uplyft), Anglicare WA, MercyCare, MacKillop Family Services, and Key Assets. These agencies offer different levels of support and specialisation — MacKillop, for example, emphasises trauma-informed training, while Wanslea allocates every carer a dedicated Family Support Worker who stays consistent across placements.
The choice between DoC and an NGA is one of the first decisions you'll need to make. Neither is objectively better; it depends on your circumstances, values, and what kind of support you want day-to-day.
Types of Foster Care Available in Perth
Perth-based carers can be authorised for several types of placements:
Emergency care — children placed at short notice, sometimes overnight, while the Department assesses longer-term needs. These placements can arrive at any hour.
Short-term care — placements lasting weeks to two years while the Department works with the birth family toward reunification.
Long-term care — for children who cannot safely return home, providing a stable family environment until they turn 18.
Respite care — temporary care for children whose primary foster or kinship carer needs a break. Typically one weekend a month or a few days during school holidays.
High-support and therapeutic care — for children with complex trauma, developmental disabilities, or significant medical needs. These placements come with additional training, funding, and clinical support.
If you're new to fostering, most agencies in Perth will start conversations around respite or short-term care before discussing longer-term placements.
The Assessment Process: What to Expect
The formal assessment typically takes four to six months. It's thorough — designed to be — and it helps to know what's coming before you begin.
Stage 1: Expression of interest and information session. You contact the Department or an NGA and attend an information evening. This is where you get a realistic picture of the system and can start to self-screen before going any further.
Stage 2: Preliminary home visit. An assessor visits your home to check for basic safety requirements — working smoke alarms, adequate bedroom space, and compliant pool fencing if you have a pool. Renters are eligible provided they have stable tenancy.
Stage 3: Comprehensive assessment. This is the substantive part. A qualified assessor conducts five to eight face-to-face interviews with you and others in your household. The interviews explore your personal history, your experience of being parented, your motivations, and your capacity for the role. The Department uses a competency-based framework covering five areas: promoting wellbeing, providing a safe environment, working in partnership with the Care Team, commitment to ongoing learning, and character and repute.
Stage 4: Fostering Foundations training. This is WA's mandatory preparation program — 18 hours across six modules. In the Perth metro area it's typically delivered face-to-face. Topics include trauma and attachment, managing behaviour without physical discipline (which is prohibited in WA), cultural safety, and working with birth families.
Stage 5: Authorisation panel. The assessor's report goes to a panel of senior staff. The panel can authorise you fully, authorise with conditions (for example, only for children of a certain age), or request more information. If you're rejected, there is a formal appeals process.
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The Working with Children Check
Everyone over 18 living in your household needs a valid Working with Children Check (WWCC) before you can be authorised. In WA, the WWCC is administered by the Department of Communities itself — it's not the same as the WWCC process in other states. There's an application fee and a comprehensive check of national criminal records.
The WA process has historically involved delays in cases where an applicant has a criminal record that triggers additional review. If anyone in your household has historical offences — even minor ones — factor in extra processing time and speak to your agency assessor early about how to handle it.
Financial Support for Perth Carers
Foster care allowances in WA are tax-free subsidies intended to cover the cost of caring for a child — they're not income. Following the Cook Government's 2026-27 State Budget, which included a record $31.8 million package for foster and family carers, rates were increased by 10%:
- Children aged 0–6: approximately $462.50 per fortnight
- Children aged 7–12: approximately $544.59 per fortnight
- Children aged 13–17: approximately $626.67 per fortnight
Additional support is available for children with high medical or behavioural needs through special needs loading. Perth carers can also access the new Foster and Grand Carer Gold Card, which provides over $754 in energy bill relief and discounts to attractions including Perth Zoo and state national parks.
Once authorised, you're generally entitled to five days of respite per month.
Fostering Aboriginal Children in Perth
In Perth and across WA, Aboriginal children are significantly over-represented in the care system. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP), embedded in the Children and Community Services Act 2004, establishes a hierarchy: Aboriginal children should be placed with family or kin first, then within their community, then with another Aboriginal family. Non-Aboriginal carers are often asked to care for Aboriginal children when those options aren't available.
If you care for an Aboriginal child, you have a legal obligation to support their connection to culture, language, and Country through a Cultural Support Plan. This isn't optional, and it involves active engagement — not just compliance.
In the Perth metro area, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations including Wungening Aboriginal Corporation and Yorganop provide culturally secure care and support for carers navigating these responsibilities.
Support Once You're Authorised
Every authorised carer in Perth is assigned a support worker from either DoC or their NGA. That worker provides regular home visits, advocacy at Care Team meetings, and assistance when a placement becomes difficult.
The Foster Care Association of WA (FCAWA) operates a 24-hour telephone support line (1800 497 101) and provides independent advocacy, including during any formal disciplinary matters. New carers receive one year of free membership upon authorisation.
OurSPACE WA is a free statewide counselling service specifically for foster and family carers. For out-of-hours emergencies, the Crisis Care Line (08 9223 1111) operates 24 hours, seven days a week.
Ready to Learn More
The Perth foster care system is manageable — but knowing what questions to ask before your first information session makes a real difference. The Western Australia Foster Care Guide covers the full assessment process in detail, including what assessors are looking for in the interview stage, how to navigate the agency selection decision, and what the first year of fostering in WA typically looks like.
Get Your Free Western Australia Foster Care Quick-Start Checklist
Download the Western Australia Foster Care Quick-Start Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.