Media release - 3 September 2024

Advocate for Children and Young People welcomes the NSW Government's ban on Alternative Care Arrangements

The NSW Advocate for Children and Young People, Ms Zoë Robinson, welcomes the ban on alternative care arrangements (ACAs) following today’s announcement by the NSW Government.

This ban comes one month after the Advocate released the report Moving cage to cage: Final Report of the Special Inquiry into children and young people in alternative care arrangements, recommending an immediate end to the use of ACAs for children and young people in out-of-home care.

The NSW Advocate for Children and Young People, Ms Zoë Robinson said, “I absolutely support the ban of the use of unaccredited emergency accommodation for vulnerable children in the foster care system.”

“Throughout the Special Inquiry I heard experiences of children and young people who had been placed in this type of care. The NSW Government’s commitment to do better is a testament to those young people, who bravely shared their stories, that they have been heard and action has been taken,” Ms Robinson said.

“I look forward to continuing to work with government to ensure appropriate supports for children and young people who have been in ACAs, including health and wellbeing supports and immediate access to therapeutic support to assist their transition into a stable care placement are made available to them,” Ms Robinson added.

“It’s timely that this announcement comes during National Child Protection Week, a week that highlights the importance of ongoing discussion in protecting children’s wellbeing and doing better for vulnerable children and young people,” said Ms Robinson.

In September 2023, the Advocate launched a Special Inquiry into children and young people in alternative care arrangements to understand the experiences of those children and young people in their own words.

The core focus of the Special Inquiry was to understand the lived experience of children and young people and to ensure that those voices are placed squarely at the centre of future work undertaken to reform the out-of-home care (OOHC) system in NSW.

During the course of the Special Inquiry, 21 children and young people aged 10 – 23 years participated in private hearings, where they spoke about their lived experiences of ACAs.

For more information or to arrange an interview with the Advocate for Children and Young People please contact: Anwen Ruttle on 0439 346 249 or at: media@acyp.nsw.gov.au.

Access report

Special Inquiry into Children and Young People in Alternative Care Arrangements final report.