Kinship Care vs Foster Care Tasmania: Differences in Payments and Support
The Core Difference
Foster care in Tasmania means DECYP places a child with an approved carer who has no prior relationship with the child. Kinship care means the child goes to a relative — a grandparent, aunt, uncle, adult sibling, or close family friend.
Kinship care can be formal (DECYP-involved) or informal (privately arranged); foster care involves a DECYP placement. That distinction matters far more than the foster/kinship label when it comes to money.
Formal vs Informal: Where the Money Splits
Formal kinship care and formal foster care sit on the same track. DECYP has intervened, assessed the situation, and placed the child under a statutory order or formal care agreement. Both formal kinship carers and formal foster carers receive:
- Fortnightly Care Allowances from DECYP (recently uplifted 15%, now permanent under the 2026–27 Budget)
- Access to contingency funding for unexpected costs
- A case manager from DECYP
- The child covered under the Foster Child Health Care Card
The 2026–27 Tasmanian Budget committed $100.1 million over four years to out-of-home care, covering both foster and kinship placements.
Informal kinship care is the third category — and it's the largest. These are relatives who took on a child through a private family arrangement, without child protection intervention. Informal carers are excluded from state OOHC care allowances. They may qualify for:
- Commonwealth payments through Centrelink, including FTB and Parenting Payment; ACCS Grandparent is for eligible grandparents and great-grandparents
- State concessions (STAS school fee waivers, Spectacles Assistance, Ticket to Play)
- The Community Kinship Care Program (Baptcare and Mission Australia)
There is no "informal foster care" — by definition, foster care involves DECYP placement with a non-relative. Informal care arrangements are always kinship.
Assessment and Approval
Formal foster carers go through an extensive assessment process: police checks, working with children checks, home safety inspections, training, and ongoing review. Formal kinship carers go through a similar but sometimes expedited assessment, particularly when a child needs immediate placement with a known relative.
Informal kinship carers have no assessment. The family arranged the placement themselves. The trade-off is clear: no assessment means no caseworker, no state allowances, and no formal support infrastructure — but also no government involvement in your family's arrangements.
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Decision-Making Authority
Under a formal Care and Protection Order, the Secretary of DECYP holds guardianship. Day-to-day decisions are delegated to the carer, but major decisions (significant medical procedures, interstate moves) go through DECYP.
Under a federal parenting order, the court specifies who makes what decisions. The grandparent or relative named in the order has the authority the order grants.
Under an informal arrangement, biological parents technically retain legal responsibility. The carer manages day-to-day care — school, GP visits, activities — but has no legal authority over major decisions unless they go to court for a parenting order.
Which Path Are You On?
If you're not sure whether your arrangement counts as formal or informal, ask whether DECYP made a formal placement with you under a statutory order or formal care agreement. A notification or assessment alone does not establish a formal placement or guarantee a care allowance. If the child moved in because the family arranged it, you're informal.
The Support for Grandparents and Kinship Carers in Tasmania guide walks through both tracks, explaining which payments apply to each arrangement type and how to access everything you're entitled to.
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