Carers want prescribed medicines reimbursed before the 2026 state election
Three Victorian organisations are urging all parties contesting the 2026 state election to cover prescribed medicine costs for children in out-of-home care.
Kinship Carers Victoria, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Foster Care Association of Victoria want the state to reimburse foster and kinship carers for out-of-pocket spending on medicines prescribed by a GP or paediatrician.
The proposal covers Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 medicines. The groups made the call during Foster Care Week in Victoria and ahead of Global Kinship Care Week in October.
Children in out-of-home care have disproportionately high physical and mental health needs. Those needs include chronic conditions, infections and acute health episodes that can require ongoing treatment.
Victoria allowances trail NSW payments
Carers can end up paying for essential medicines themselves, adding to financial pressure on households caring for children who cannot live with their birth families.
Victoria’s base care allowance is the lowest in Australia. A Victorian carer looking after a child aged seven or younger receives $236 a week for household, clothing, education, recreation and health costs, compared with $403 a week in New South Wales for a child the same age.
According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, the cost of raising a child in out-of-home care is estimated to be 12, 18% higher for couple carer households than raising a child who is not in out-of-home care.
Dr Aadhil Aziz, co-deputy chair of the RACGP Victoria faculty, said every Victorian child should be able to access the medicines they need to stay healthy, whether they live with birth parents or with foster or kinship carers.
Financial pressure is also feeding into carer shortages. Victoria has the highest foster carer exit rate of any Australian state, with more carers leaving than being recruited.
Meanwhile, kinship carers are eligible for the same payments as foster carers, but they receive less financial assistance and have fewer costs covered.
The push comes as the RACGP campaigns for the next Victorian government to support general practice and improve access to essential care in its 2026 election platform.
