
Foster care in the ACT
Help a child reach their brightest future. Become a foster carer and make a difference.
Shape a child’s tomorrow
We’re on the lookout for caring people who live in the ACT who can offer time, stability and support to children in the area who are in need of a safe home. As a foster carer, you will be giving a child the nurturing home they truly deserve.
At Barnardos, we are proud to accept applications from people of all backgrounds, marital status, sexual orientations or family structures, and whether you have children or not, your application is welcome with us!
When you become a foster carer with us at Barnardos, you’ll receive extensive training, a supportive allowance, and access to 24/7 support.
ENQUIRE NOW or call 1800 663 441

Types of foster care
Short-term or crisis foster care
As a short-term foster carer, you could be caring for children anywhere from one night, and up to two years. These carers are crucial at the time of emergency action so you do need to be prepared to look after children on very short-notice and the call could come at any time of the day or night.
Short-term carers also help with family time visits between the child and their birth family so ideally you would have capacity to to get children to and from these visits and accompany the child at these session when needed.
Restoration care
We support children to return to live with their birth family when it is safe to do so. As a restoration carer you your support will be integral by providing temporary care for children until they are able to return home. This type of foster care includes regular visits with birth parents.
Sometimes however restoration doesn’t go as planned and restoration carers are crucial to enabling possible transitions for the child/ren to other long-term carers or they can apply to be the long-term carer themselves.
Permanent foster care
When a child cannot safely return to their birth parents or family, they need a permanent home that provides a secure and safe environment until they turn 18 or are prepared to transition to independent living.
If you are matched to provide long term care to a child or young person there will be an expectation that, if deemed appropriate for that child, permanency orders will be pursued. Permanency orders include an Adoption order or an Enduring Parental Responsibility (EPR) provision.
Respite foster care
This is care for short stays – generally one weekend a month. The aim is to give families a break and offer a positive experience for the child.
Respite care offers people the ability to continue working full time and not miss out on having children in their lives, so can be very rewarding for single people or people whose children have left home.
For ongoing respite, we ask carers to commit to 12 months minimum. Many respite carers develop strong bonds with children and their families and may provide respite beyond this commitment period.
Caring for Indigenous children
Our community in the ACT needs Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
It's our vision that all Indigenous children requiring Foster or Kinship care are supported by an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation. During the transition to this vision, Barnardos Canberra are seeking Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander foster carers to come forward and provide care for mob. We also seek to provide culturally safe support to our carers.
Every child in foster care carries a story, and every home can be a chapter of hope.

Meet Rory and Dan - Foster carers
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We wanted to start a family nearly eight or nine years ago in the early days when we knew we wanted to be parents but we weren’t sure how how capable we were necessarily. Respite just seemed to be such a great option for us because it gave a little bit of a taste of parenting without 24/7 commitment.
Once we were approved for respite foster care we were eventually placed with – he was 12 at the time – a young man called Ben and he was going to stay with us for one weekend a month for a period of minimum two-year commitment. It was the first respite foster care placement and over a course of about four years.
In addition to Ben we looked after another three other young people, it was that one weekend a month or two weekends a month as it turned out to be a commitment. We got to test our abilities as parents and how we work together. As respite foster carers we’re there to basically give their main foster carers a break for the weekend and allow that young person a bit of fun time, I guess a bit of a change of scenery.
We got married in 2018 and Ben ended up being part of our wedding party. We felt like he was part of our family for a very long time and we wanted him to be a part of that.
It’s a very rewarding sort of experience and yeah once this little person comes into your lives you just will never look back.
Why foster with Barnardos?
Deciding to become a foster carer in the ACT is a significant life choice, and selecting the right organisation to foster with is equally crucial.
Barnardos is a trusted organisation with a long-standing commitment to helping children. Our carers are supported with training, an allowance, and dedicated caseworker support. We recognise the unique contributions of our specialist carers with a higher allowance.
We reject the “one size fits all” approach common in foster care. Instead, we offer various types of care, allowing our carers to hone specific skills and receive specialised support.
At Barnardos, we champion equality and diversity, welcoming carers from all backgrounds and faiths, without setting an upper age limit. Many individuals in their 40’s and beyond, who have been declined by other agencies, have successfully joined us as foster or adoptive parents.