Leaving Care in Queensland: What Happens When a Foster Child Turns 18

The way Queensland's foster care system handles the transition to adulthood has improved significantly over the past decade, but it remains one of the most vulnerable moments in a young person's life. A young person who has grown up in out-of-home care faces the same challenges as any 18-year-old — finding stable housing, managing money, building a career — but without the informal safety net of a family home to fall back on when things go wrong.

As a foster carer, understanding what support is available from age 15 onwards — and what role you can continue to play — is important for both the young person and your own planning.

When Transition Planning Begins

Queensland's formal transition planning process begins when a young person turns 15. From that point, the Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services (DCSSDS) is required to start developing a Transition to Adulthood plan with the young person, covering education, employment, housing, and social connections.

In practice, the quality and consistency of this planning varies significantly. The Queensland Family and Child Commission's 2026 submission to the Commission of Inquiry documented that many young people felt their transition planning was inadequate — focused on paperwork compliance rather than genuine preparation. Foster carers who are engaged with this process and advocate for the young person's inclusion in their own planning are often the difference between a plan that is meaningful and one that is perfunctory.

The young person's views must be central to the plan. This is not just good practice — it is a legal requirement under the Child Protection Act 1999, which enshrines a child's right to participate in decisions about their own life.

What Happens on the 18th Birthday

Turning 18 does not mean the Queensland system immediately switches off all support. Queensland has progressively extended its post-care supports, and what a young person is entitled to now looks significantly different to what was available five years ago.

Continued placements. If the young person wants to stay with their foster carer after 18, and the carer agrees, the Department will continue paying the Fortnightly Carer's Allowance until the young person turns 21. This is one of the most significant practical supports available, because it means carers are not financially penalised for continuing to provide a home.

Financial assistance for independent living. Young people who move into independent living at 18 can access financial assistance of up to $16,000 per year to help with living costs until their 21st birthday. This is paid by the Department and is designed to bridge the gap between the end of formal care and genuine financial independence.

Transition to Independent Living Allowance (TILA). The Federal Government provides a one-off payment of $1,500 for young people leaving care, to help purchase essential household items. It is not large, but it is an entitlement — and many young people are not told about it.

Next Step Plus. Anglicare Southern Queensland operates the Next Step Plus program, which provides mentors, housing support, and employment assistance for young people aged 15–25 with a care experience. Similar programs exist through other Queensland LCS providers.

The "Continuing the Connection" Principle

Queensland's policy framework explicitly recognises that the transition to adulthood for young people leaving care is better when they maintain connections with their former carers. The formal end of a placement at 18 does not mean the relationship ends, and the Department actively encourages carers to maintain ongoing contact.

For many foster carers, this is already their instinct. What the policy framework adds is legitimacy and, through the continued placement provision, a financial mechanism that removes the incentive to disengage at 18.

Carers who want to continue playing a role — even informally, as a mentor or safe adult contact — are performing a function that the research literature consistently identifies as one of the strongest protective factors for young people leaving care. The presence of even one stable adult relationship is strongly associated with better outcomes in housing, employment, and mental health.

Challenges the System Hasn't Fully Solved

Even with expanded supports, the transition to adulthood for Queensland care leavers involves real risks. The QFCC's 2026 submissions to the Commission of Inquiry identified housing instability as the most acute challenge: young people leaving care are significantly overrepresented in Queensland's homeless population, particularly in South East Queensland where rental markets are extremely tight.

Young people who have had multiple placement changes during their time in care — which, unfortunately, is common for children with complex needs — often reach 18 without the stable attachment relationships and life skills that support a successful transition. This is a systemic failure that extended support programs alone cannot fix, but it is the reality that carers and caseworkers are navigating.

The mental health dimension is also significant. Research consistently shows that care-experienced young people have higher rates of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress than the general population, and that these conditions often emerge more acutely during the uncertainty of the transition period.

What This Means for Long-Term Carers

If you are a long-term carer or a permanent guardian approaching the point where the young person in your care is turning 15 or 16, the most important thing you can do is engage actively with transition planning from the outset. Push for a plan that reflects the young person's actual goals and circumstances — not a generic template. Understand the financial supports they are entitled to and help them access them. And prepare emotionally for a transition that is rarely clean or linear.

The most successful transitions are those where the young person does not experience leaving care as being cut off, but as a gradual shift toward independence with a safety net intact.

The Queensland Foster Care Guide includes a section on permanency planning and the transition-to-adulthood supports available in Queensland — practical information for carers who are in it for the long term.

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