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.

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.