Children in Care Deserve Priority Healthcare—It’s Time We Treated It That Way

By Dr Lisa J. Griffiths

Imagine being taken from your home for your own safety and then waiting months—sometimes years—for basic health and mental health support. This is the reality for too many children in Australia’s foster care system. 

Children and young people in out-of-home care are among the most vulnerable in our country. Many enter care having experienced trauma, neglect, abuse, or chronic instability. It should be a national priority to provide them with immediate, coordinated, and ongoing healthcare. But right now, their access to that care is patchy, delayed, and often entirely dependent on where they live. 

Every state and territory has its own approach to healthcare access for children in care, but none meet the scale of the need. Children frequently miss out on routine checks, dental care, specialist services, and mental health support. Foster and kinship carers are left to navigate complex systems with little help, even as they try to meet the needs of children who require intensive support. 

This isn’t just a system oversight—it’s a form of neglect. When we delay or deny care to children who’ve already experienced so much disruption, we compound the trauma. 

We know that early, proactive healthcare makes a difference. The Brighter Beginnings: The First 2000 Days of Life report from New South Wales shows that for every $1 invested in early intervention and prevention, there’s a $13 return through reduced demand on crisis services. For children in care, that return isn’t just economic—it’s human. It’s fewer school suspensions, fewer hospitalisations, fewer breakdowns in placements. It’s more stability, better mental health, and a greater chance at a positive future. 

The Future of Foster Care campaign is calling for a national model that guarantees children in care priority access to healthcare and a dedicated, trauma-informed care coordination approach. This is not a radical ask. It is the kind of practical, life-changing reform that will have ripple effects across generations. 

Children in foster care did not choose their circumstances. They rely on us—on governments, systems, and society—to give them a chance to heal. Prioritising their healthcare is one of the most immediate and powerful ways we can do that. 

It’s time we stopped treating this as an optional extra and started treating it as the urgent priority it is. Because when we fail to meet the health needs of children in care, we’re not just failing them—we’re setting the stage for larger, more expensive failures down the line. 

Let’s do better. Let’s give every child in care the healthcare they need, when they need it—no matter where they live, no matter their background, no matter what. 

Show your support by joining the campaign here.