Kinship Care in the NT: How It Differs from Foster Care and What Relatives Need to Know

The phone call usually comes without warning. A grandparent in Darwin gets word that their grandchild has been removed from their parents' home. A great-aunt in Katherine learns that her nephew's children are in emergency care and the department is looking for family. An older sibling is told their younger brother needs somewhere to go.

These people are not thinking about "kinship care policy." They are thinking about a child they love and what they can do to help right now. The problem is that the system has requirements that apply to them — sometimes urgently — and many of them have no idea what those requirements are.

What Is Kinship Care?

Kinship care is the arrangement where a child who cannot safely live with their parents is placed with relatives, family friends, or community members who have an existing relationship with the child. In the Northern Territory, kinship care is not just a preference — it is the first priority under law.

Under Section 12 of the Care and Protection of Children Act 2007 (NT) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP), when an Aboriginal child enters out-of-home care, the department must first seek to place that child with family or kin before considering any other option. Given that over 90% of children in NT foster care are Aboriginal, kinship care is the dominant model in the Territory — or at least, it is meant to be.

Kinship Care Versus Foster Care: What's the Same?

Kinship carers in the NT receive the same financial support as foster carers. The weekly carer allowance rates — including the Remote Area Loading for carers in Alice Springs, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, and Tennant Creek — apply equally to kinship carers and stranger foster carers. The 2024-25 rates, which were increased by 10% on 1 July 2024, range from $265.65 per week (Level 1, age 0-5) to $1,098.33 per week (Level 4, age 14-17).

Kinship carers are also subject to the same authorisation requirements as foster carers:

• Every adult in the household aged 18 or over must hold a current Ochre Card (NT Working with Children Clearance)
• A National Police Check is required
• A home safety assessment must be completed
• A medical assessment is required for the primary carers
• A formal carer assessment using the Step-by-Step tool is conducted

This means that even a grandparent who has raised children before, and who has always been the family safety net, must go through the formal approval process before a child can be officially placed in their care.

What's Different About Kinship Care?

The differences are significant, and they affect how kinship carers experience the role day to day.

The relationship already exists. A kinship carer knows the child. This is both an advantage and a source of additional complexity. The child may have mixed feelings about living with a grandparent or aunt — particularly if that relative has had their own relationship with the child's parents, who may be struggling with alcohol, domestic violence, or other issues. Kinship carers often find themselves managing the grief and divided loyalties of a child who loves both their parents and their carer.

The family dynamics are more complex. Stranger foster carers can maintain a certain professional distance from the child's birth family. Kinship carers cannot. If the birth parent is your son or daughter, your niece or nephew, every decision the department makes about that person affects your relationships, your household, and your ability to provide stability for the child.

Training needs may be different. The department recognises that kinship carers often need different types of support from stranger foster carers. Kinship carers may have deep cultural knowledge but less familiarity with the formal systems of care planning and caseworker communication. Training should ideally be tailored to the kinship context — though in practice, the same Fostering Families training applies to both groups.

The "kinship finding" process. When a child enters the system, organisations like Larrakia Nation (Minbani Bebe) and Yalu Aboriginal Corporation conduct "kinship finding" — a process of identifying and reaching out to family and community members who might be able to provide care. If you are a relative who hears about this process, it is worth engaging early, because the timeline for emergency placements can be very short.

Emergency Kinship Placements

One of the most urgent situations any potential kinship carer faces is an emergency placement request. The department may contact family members when a child has just been removed and needs somewhere to go within hours.

In this situation, a kinship carer can receive a child under an interim arrangement while the formal assessment process is completed — but the Ochre Card requirement still applies. Every adult in the household will need to begin their Ochre Card application as soon as possible after the emergency placement begins. The formal authorisation must follow within a defined timeframe.

If you think you may ever be called upon as a kinship carer — because your family situation makes it a realistic possibility — it is worth applying for your Ochre Card before you need it. The card takes between 6 and 12 weeks to process; waiting until a crisis moment means living through that delay with a child already in your home and no formal authorisation in place.

Support for Kinship Carers

Kinship carers are entitled to the same support services as foster carers, including:

• Placement support from Territory Families or a contracted NGO
• Access to the Fostering Families training program
• After-hours support lines
• Respite care (so kinship carers can take a break)
• Cultural support from ACCOs where relevant

The Foster and Kinship Carers Association NT (FKCANT) is a particularly important resource for kinship carers. FKCANT provides advocacy support, peer connection, and guidance for carers who feel overwhelmed by the system or unsure of their rights. Many kinship carers — especially grandparents who stepped up in a crisis — feel isolated and unsure of what they are entitled to. FKCANT can help.

Kinship Carers and Cultural Connection

For Aboriginal kinship carers, the cultural connection obligations that apply to all carers of Aboriginal children are generally already embedded in the relationship. An aunty in the same community already knows the child's Country, language, and family. The care plan simply formalises what would happen naturally.

For non-Aboriginal kinship carers — step-grandparents, family friends, or others with a significant relationship to the child — the cultural obligations are the same as they are for stranger foster carers. The child's Aboriginal identity must be actively supported.

If you are a kinship carer or are expecting a kinship placement and need to understand the full process — from emergency authorisation through to care planning and financial support — the Northern Territory Foster Care Guide includes a detailed section on kinship care pathways and requirements under NT law.

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