Our work

On-call foster care (Retainer)

Providing short-term, emergency care for children and young people in need.

Children and young people often require short-term emergency accommodation at a moment’s notice. This can often be while a long-term placement is being planned or when other suitable home-based care options are not available.

The objective of the retainer model is to ensure children and young people always have a safe place to call home and to keep them connected to their local community, with a focus on school and kindergarten attendance.

Can you spare one week per month?

We are currently seeking people who are passionate about making a difference and are able to provide a safe place for a child or young person in their own own.

As an on-call foster carer, you will be rostered on for a period of between 4-7 nights per month and will receive an allowance, regardless of whether you care for a child during that period or not.

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What support will you receive?

OzChild will provide you with full training and ongoing support and you will be further supported by a dedicated team of carers during your rostered week.

All on-call foster carers must reside within Metropolitan Western Melbourne. View a map of the areas we service with this program.

More information about our foster care program

Intake

For further information about Intake, please call the relevant office: Dandenong (03 9212 3900), Frankston (03 8796 0000), Yarraville (03 9212 3977) or Ipswich (07 4591 8523)

Become an OzChild foster carer

Start your journey today and become a foster carer. Our information sessions are a great way to learn about foster care from our experienced staff.

45,000
Children and young people are in need of care each year
550
The number of children, young people and family members OzChild supports on any given night
Every 45 minutes
A child enters the care system in Australia
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Acknowledgement of Country


OzChild acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live and work. We acknowledge their cultures are living ones, which relate to their ongoing connection to all things living and non-living on land, sea and sky.

We pay our respect to Elders past and present.

May the children of today lead us to a brighter tomorrow.

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