This report presents findings from a four-year mixed-methods longitudinal study of the experiences of children, carers, and parents in the Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) system. It examines how and why the emotional, social and cultural wellbeing of children varies over the course of their journey through OOHC and provides insights into how policy and practice can better support them.

This study analyzed data from residential care settings in Victoria, Australia, to examine how missing episodes intersect with worker-identified concerns about sexual and criminal exploitation among children and young people. Findings suggest that going missing may signal ongoing, overlapping patterns of exploitation-related harm—rather than isolated vulnerability—highlighting the need to view these incidents as part of sustained exploitation trajectories.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with disabilities are overrepresented in child welfare systems, yet little is known about their experiences; this study draws on yarning sessions with 46 kinship carers in Western Australia as part of the I-CaRe WA project. Findings highlight barriers to disability assessments and services, underscoring the urgent need for reforms, improved training, and better support to enhance outcomes for both carers and children.

Unaccompanied children and young people experiencing homelessness are at risk of significant lifelong negative outcomes. Supported accommodation services are a critical response to homelessness; however, these services do not always meet this cohort’s needs. This research project examines the effectiveness of Australia’s supported accommodation services in meeting the needs of unaccompanied children and young people aged 12–24. It proposes principles to guide policy and practice toward a better system.

This study explores how children and youth in residential care in Australia understand the concept of “home,” finding it is often defined by the absence of harm but marked by gaps in security, control, relationships, and belonging. It concludes that institutional structures and staff instability limit meaningful experiences of home, highlighting the need for more consistent, relational, and youth-centered care environments.

This article explains that adoption rates in Australia have fallen to historically low levels, based on new data showing a long-term and continuing decline. It highlights that only a small number of adoptions now occur each year, dropping significantly over recent decades, with most adoptions involving children already known to the adoptive family, such as foster or kinship carers, rather than infants or intercountry placements.

This study explores how kinship carers in Australia define success in statutory kinship care, emphasizing everyday experiences, emotional bonds, and a child-in-context perspective rather than traditional child protection metrics. It concludes that success is best understood through strong family relationships and belonging, calling for more family-centered support systems that prioritize carers’ and children’s lived experiences.

This article examines the long-term impacts of Australia’s immigration detention policies on children, drawing on personal stories and research to show how prolonged detention has caused significant psychological harm, disrupted development, and l

This article examines how child protection systems continue to reflect colonial power by disproportionately intervening in Indigenous families and undermining cultural practices and kinship systems. It highlights growing Indigenous-led movements to reclaim authority over child welfare, emphasizing self-determination and the rebuilding of care systems grounded in Indigenous laws, values, and relationships.

This study explores how children and young people in out-of-home care in Australia understand and experience “home,” finding it to be a deeply meaningful but complex and evolving concept shaped by relationships, safety, and personal space. It highlights that creating and sustaining a sense of home requires ongoing effort from carers and workers within often challenging care systems.