Groups want prescribed drugs for children in care reimbursed
Three Victorian organisations are urging all parties in the 2026 state election to promise they will repay foster and kinship carers for prescribed medicines bought for children in out-of-home care.
Kinship Carers Victoria, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Foster Care Association of Victoria made the call during Foster Care Week in Victoria and ahead of Global Kinship Care Week in October.
Under the proposal, the Victorian Government would cover carers’ out-of-pocket costs for medicines prescribed by a GP or paediatrician. That would include Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 medicines.
The groups argue the change would remove one cost that can stop children getting treatment. Children in out-of-home care have higher rates of physical and mental ill health, including chronic conditions, infections and acute episodes that need ongoing care.
Low allowances add pressure on carers
Money is already tight for many carers. In Victoria, a person caring for a child aged seven or younger receives a base allowance of $236 a week for household, clothing, education, recreation and health costs.
That is well below New South Wales, where the equivalent payment is $403 a week for a child in the same age group. The organisations say Victoria’s base care allowance is the lowest in Australia.
According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, couple carer households face costs that are 12, 18% higher when raising a child in out-of-home care than when raising a child who is not in that system.
Kinship carers face extra strain because, although they can qualify for the same payments as foster carers, they receive less financial assistance and have fewer of their costs covered.
Dr Aadhil Aziz, co-deputy chair of RACGP Victoria Faculty, said: “Victorian carers are receiving the lowest support in Australia, and they are leaving the system in droves.”
The pressure is feeding into retention problems. Victoria has the highest foster carer exit rate of any Australian state, with more carers leaving than new carers being recruited.
The joint push comes as the RACGP campaigns on broader health access ahead of the election. Its Victorian platform also calls on the next state government to support the sustainability of general practice and improve access to essential care.
The three organisations say medicine costs should not become another financial burden for carers who have taken in children unable to live with their birth families, or a barrier to getting the healthcare those children need.
