A recent Queensland Family and Child Commission report warns that the state's over-reliance on residential care has driven costs from around AUD 200 million in 2015 to AUD 1.12 billion in 2024, and without systemic reform, expenses could skyrocket to as much as AUD 7 billion annually by 2030.

This article examines why reunification rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care in New South Wales, Australia remain so low, despite being the preferred permanency option. Drawing on insights from practitioners, it highlights the need for culturally grounded approaches and a redefinition of reunification that centers ongoing family and community connections.

This study explores how trust is built within the Mockingbird Family foster care model in Australia, based on interviews with children, carers, and care networks. Findings show that trust emerges through daily interactions, collaboration, and organizational and political support, rather than being a fixed trait. The study highlights the importance of relationship-centered, interconnected approaches to reimagining foster care.

"Ordinary People, Extraordinary Hearts" is an on-demand training program designed to support kinship carers in Australia in creating safe, nurturing, and healing environments for children and young people in their care.

This study explores how caseworkers in Australia’s out-of-home care system balance children’s right to participate in decisions with concerns about risk and trauma. Findings show that while participation is valued, caseworkers often limit or delay it due to fears of destabilizing placements or harming children’s wellbeing, highlighting the need for more reflexive approaches to strengthen participatory practice.

This project explored the experiences of young people in Australia living in ‘therapeutic residential care’ to understand what helps or hinders them in building trust and feeling safe. Drawing on interviews and surveys, it shares insights directly from the young people about what works well and what could be improved.

A scoping review of 31 studies (2013–2023) examined why children and young people in out-of-home care in Australia spend unauthorised time away from placements. Findings show these absences often reflect efforts to seek safety, stability, connection, autonomy, and belonging, highlighting systemic shortcomings and the need for youth-informed practices that address needs both in care and while away.

This paper reports on a national policy analysis in Australia exploring how therapeutic residential care (TRC) is constructed in policy documents. One hundred and thirty-two relevant policy documents were analysed to identify the practices and the conditions that facilitate the development of relationships and connections.

Despite Indigenous, legal, children's and human rights advocates pointing out that harsher penalties for kids don't make the community safer, the Liberal National Party says it will follow through on its election promises about youth justice.

This paper draws on the experiences of children and young people (CYP) who have self-placed in out-of-home care (OOHC) in Queensland (Australia) and the impact of that choice on their participation in decision-making.