Question On Notice No. 3003 asked in the Legislative Council on 23 June 2020 by Hon Nick Goiran
Question Directed to the: Leader of the House representing the Minister for Child Protection
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I refer to a Koori Mail article on 20 May 2020, entitled “Foster Carers blocked from taking kids OS”, which references a case in NSW where carers, who were not Australian residents, wanted to take their foster children with them to England, and I ask:
(a) is it possible in Western Australia for foster carers to not be permanent residents or citizens;
(b) if yes to (a), in which circumstances is this possible and why;
(c) further to (b), would such carers be permitted to travel overseas with their foster children; and
(d) currently, how many Western Australia foster carers are not citizens or permanent residents?
Answered on 8 September 2020
(a) Yes.
(b) Given the importance of stability and continuity of care for children in the care of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Department of Communities, in addition to Australian citizens and permanent residents of Australia, New Zealand citizen holders of a Special Category Visa - subclass 444 are also eligible to apply to be a foster carer.
Temporary visa holders will not be considered for foster care.
(c) Yes.
Considerations to approving overseas travel include:
- considering the views of the child and both parents about the proposed travel, and where possible, parental consent for the travel must be obtained;
- confirmation that escort, accommodation and supervision arrangements are in place before the child travels; and
- confirmation that travel and medical insurance have been obtained before any overseas travel,
(d) The information requested is not readily available from the Department of Communities’ (Communities) child protection information system. As this information is held on individual case files, it would impose a significant administration burden on Communities to source this data.