Fiona and Michael te Wierik are FCAV's new Carer Ambassadors. They spoke to carers at the FCAV Carer Celebration during Foster Care Week 2024 about their intensive work to date on the Care Allowance Campaign.

"We announced at the beginning of August 2024 that we were going to personally contact all local Members in Parliament to discuss the FCAV Care Allowance Campaign.

We would like to note that some email enquiries and phone calls entered the ether and did not return but some shining stars did respond to our queries.

The journey started with conversations around our concerns and how to elevate this issue further. After many an emails returned stating “Thank you for taking the time to contact the minister… we appreciate your patience as we work through a large amount of correspondence… we aim to provide a response within 3-6months”, our luck changed when we received a response from State Liberal Member for Parliament, Brad Battin.

Brad was acutely aware of the struggles Victorian Foster Carers faced and he was more than happy to assist us with raising this issue at a Federal Level. Brad put us in contact with Anne Marie Hermans. She was very moved by the statistics we provided in relation to the carer Campaign and on Wednesday 28th August 2024 Anne Marie presented her concerns to Parliament. She moved a motion in the House of Representative regarding the issue to take action to end the crisis unfolding in the Victoria Foster Care sector.

She argued, “Foster Carers in Victoria have repeatedly called on the government to help. They have even provided petitions to the Department of Treasury and Finance as well as the minister, but nothing has happened to fix the problem. The Victorian Government must (1) index foster carer allowances to inflation to ensure they can afford to care for children properly, (2) invest in recruitment and retention programs to attract and keep dedicated carers and (3) prioritise foster care as a cost-effective and nurturing solution for vulnerable children. The government must act with urgency to ensure every child in Victoria has a safe and loving home environment. Our most vulnerable children are being impacted through the failure of the Allan Labor government’s ability to manage our finances effectively.” See Ms Herman's full adjournment.

So what now?

It has been suggested by some high level supporters that our next step is to increase awareness of this campaign across media, community and networks. So please, if you see any discussion regarding the Care Allowance Campaign, please bring it to the attention of family and friends and share on social media. We hope these next steps effect change."

Fiona te Wierik