Respite Foster Care South Australia: What It Is and How to Get Started

The people who ask about respite care tend to fall into two groups: primary carers who are exhausted and desperately need a break, and prospective carers who want to contribute but are not ready to commit to a full-time placement. Both are right to look at respite. It serves a different but equally critical function in the SA foster care system.

What is respite care?

Respite foster care provides temporary relief for primary foster or kinship carers. A respite carer looks after a child for a short, agreed period — typically one weekend per month, during school holidays, or in response to a specific need like a primary carer's illness, family emergency, or planned holiday.

In South Australia, respite care is not just a convenience. It is a system-critical service. Primary carer burnout is one of the leading causes of placement breakdown, and placement breakdown is one of the most damaging experiences a child in care can go through. Children who experience more than ten placement moves are not uncommon in the SA system. Respite reduces the pressure on primary carers, which directly protects placement stability for the child.

Who arranges respite?

Respite is coordinated by the NGO agency the primary carer is registered with — AnglicareSA, Lutheran Care, Uniting Communities, Life Without Barriers, ac.care, or any of the other DCP-contracted agencies. The primary carer's Carer Support Worker matches them with an approved respite carer in their area.

To become a respite carer, you go through the same authorisation process as a full-time carer. This includes the DHS screening (Working with Children Check), home assessment, and mandatory preparation training. There is no shortened pathway for respite-only carers — the safety requirements are identical because the children are identical.

What does the commitment look like?

The most common model is one weekend per month. You pick up the child on Friday afternoon and return them on Sunday evening. During school holidays the period may extend to a week or two.

You will typically care for the same child consistently, which allows the child to build some familiarity and trust — rather than being placed with a different family each time. This continuity matters enormously to children in care, for whom unfamiliar environments are a source of significant anxiety.

As a respite carer you will need to:

• Be available on agreed dates, with reasonable notice given for changes
• Have a spare bedroom for the child
• Be willing to maintain the child's routine (school schedule, medication, dietary needs, contact visits if they fall within your period)
• Communicate with the primary carer about the child's needs and how the stay went

You are not expected to handle crisis management alone. Your agency provides 24-hour phone support, and the primary carer remains the first point of contact for any significant issues.

What are respite carers paid in SA?

Respite carers in South Australia receive a payment per care period, generally in the range of $70–$150 per weekend depending on the child's age and assessed needs. For children with higher needs or special needs loadings, the rate is higher.

Like all foster care payments in SA, respite payments are non-assessable income under ATO Taxation Determination TD2006/62. They are not taxable and do not reduce your eligibility for Centrelink payments like the Family Tax Benefit.

Why respite is a common starting point

Many South Australians who go on to become full-time carers begin with respite. The reasons are practical and psychological:

Lower initial commitment. Respite allows you to experience what it is like to have a child in care — the dynamics, the emotional engagement, the relationship with your agency — before making a long-term commitment.

Real-world preparation. No training course prepares you for the reality of a child who has experienced trauma as effectively as spending a weekend with one. You learn quickly what triggers to look for, how to create calm when a child is dysregulated, and how resilient you actually are in those moments.

System familiarity. You learn how the DCP and your agency communicate, how decisions are made, and whether the support you receive from your chosen organisation matches what was promised.

Family adjustment. If you have biological children at home, respite is a practical way to test how the household adjusts to an additional child before committing to a longer arrangement.

Can you do respite while working full time?

Yes. Most respite placements are scheduled on weekends, which is specifically designed to accommodate carers who work during the week. The eligibility criteria do not require you to be available full time. What they do require is that you can reliably commit to the agreed dates and that your employer arrangements allow for the occasional variation that comes with any care role.

Respite for kinship carers

Kinship carers — grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other family members who are caring for a relative's child — are among the most in need of respite and the least likely to ask for it. The SA system is increasingly recognising this. DCP-contracted agencies are specifically mandated to provide respite support for kinship carers, and the Connecting Foster and Kinship Carers SA (formerly the Foster Care Association of SA) provides peer support and advocacy for kinship carers seeking breaks.

If you are a kinship carer and have not been offered respite as part of your support plan, you are entitled to raise this with your DCP caseworker.

How to register as a respite carer

Contact one of the DCP-authorised NGOs in your area and specify that you are interested in respite care. The initial conversation and information session will be the same as for any foster care enquiry. From there, the assessment process proceeds on the same timeline — typically six to nine months from enquiry to authorisation, with the DHS screening representing the most common source of delay.

For a complete picture of the SA foster care system — including how respite fits into the broader placement hierarchy and how carers navigate the DCP-NGO structure — the South Australia Foster Care Guide covers the full process in practical detail.

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