WA Department of Communities Grandcarer Support: What They Do and Don't Do

Three Agencies, Three Different Roles

One of the most confusing things about being a grandparent carer in WA is working out which agency does what. There are three main players, and their roles are distinct:

WA Department of Communities — The state government department responsible for child protection, statutory out-of-home care, and funding community support programs. They set the policy and fund the Grandcarers Support Scheme, but they do not process your payment applications directly.

Wanslea (Uplyft) — A community organisation funded by the Department of Communities to deliver the Grandparent Carer Support Services (GCSS) Program. They actually administer the Grandcarers Support Scheme, run the Grandcare helpline, and provide peer support and casework. Phone: 1800 794 909.

Services Australia (Centrelink) — The federal agency that pays Family Tax Benefit, Additional Child Care Subsidy, Parenting Payment and other federal entitlements. Phone for grandparent carers: 1800 245 965.

When the Department of Communities Is Involved

The Department of Communities gets directly involved in your situation in specific circumstances:

Child protection concerns — If there has been a notification about the child's safety, a caseworker from the Department may assess the situation and, in some cases, formally place the child with you as a kinship foster carer. In this case, the Department holds or shares parental responsibility and you operate under a care plan.

Special Guardianship Orders — Under s.69 of the Children and Community Services Act 2004, the Children's Court can grant you a Special Guardianship Order, giving you full parental responsibility until the child turns 18. The Department is involved in this process and provides SGO financial support.

Crisis Care — The Department operates the after-hours child protection crisis line at 1800 199 008. If a child is at immediate risk outside business hours, this is the number to call.

HUGS (Hardship Utility Grant Scheme) — The Department administers emergency utility bill relief. This is separate from child protection — it is a general hardship program available to low-income households.

When the Department Is Not Involved

If you are an informal kinship carer — caring for a grandchild through a family agreement, not a Department placement — the Department of Communities is generally not part of your day-to-day life. Your main contacts are Wanslea (for the GSS and support services) and Centrelink (for federal payments).

Centrelink administers federal payments and Wanslea administers the GSS; those applications are handled separately from the Department's child-protection functions. A payment application is an administrative process, not itself a protection assessment.

This distinction matters because many grandparent carers avoid contacting agencies out of fear that it will lead to the child being taken away. The Centrelink Grandparent Advisers and Wanslea caseworkers work specifically with informal carers and understand this concern.

The Grandfamilies Resource Guide

The Department of Communities publishes the Grandfamilies Resource Guide — a directory of services and support available to grandparent and kinship carers in WA. It is a useful reference document, though it does not walk you through the actual application process for each payment.

Navigating All Three Agencies

The practical challenge is that your support comes from three separate systems. The GSS, FTB, ACCS and school enrolment paperwork each require different evidence, different forms and different contacts.

Our WA Kinship Carer Support Guide maps out all three streams — state, federal and school/medical — in the order you need them. One document, with checklists for each step, so you do not need to work out which agency handles what on your own.

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