Submissions & Other Publications

PCA Families is actively involved in advocating for the interests of permanent care, kinship care and adoptive families in Victoria at both the state and federal Government level.

We also work with key influencers to progress advocacy priorities, including:

Families and the community – connected to permanent care, kinship care and adoption, including both local and intercountry adoption.
Government and opposition Ministers such as the Minister for Child Protection and the Premier of Victoria.
Public service officials, such as departmental staff from the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice and Community Safety.
Independent commissions, such as the Commission for Children and Young People.
Community service organisations, representative/peak bodies, or other interest groups.
Think tanks and research bodies such as universities and innovation centres.

You can read our submissions and publications below:

Submission for Paid Parental Leave for permanent care parents

PCA Families sought equal access to Paid Parental Leave (PPL) for those carers who welcome a child into their home under a permanent care order (PCO). Submission to the Senate for ’Fairer Paid Parental Leave Amendment Bill 2015’was considered by the Community Affairs Legislation Committee. PCA Families argued that where the carer is required to be home full time for the first 12 months of a permanent care placement, then these carers should be entitled to the 18 weeks of PPL, just as any new biological or adoptive parent is. We believe that the review of PPL would benefit from considering Victoria’s case individually, given that PCOs have been operating in Victoria since 1992. Each year, over 200 permanent care orders are made in Victoria, for children who are not able to live with their birth family.

Inquiry into the Implementation of the Children, Youth and Families Amendment Act 2014

A Permanency Amendments Inquiry was conducted by the Commission for Children and Young People on recent changes to child protection laws. More than 50 submissions were received, from carers, families, service providers and advocates. Not all submissions have been made public, however thirty-six public submissions are now available on Permanency Amendments Inquiry.

Potential of Permanent Care report

Why it’s important for families to be supported

Outcomes for many of the 10,000 children and young people currently in out of home care in Victoria include homelessness, poor job prospects, fractured relationships and, too often a trajectory into the criminal justice system.

It doesn't have to be this way. In addition to providing more support to ensure less children enter care in the first place and that children can be reunified to their birth parents in a timely way wherever possible, there is now overwhelming international evidence that when we offer children a alternative permanent homes we give children a sense of security and stability that leads to better life outcomes.

However, it's not enough to make a court order. The international evidence also shows that the availability of peer support and other consumer-led support services independent of government and placement agencies is critical to ensuring these alternative families succeed. It is the non-judgemental lived experience underpinning our model that permanent care and adoptive families trust. It means we can help keep families together, when other services cannot.

When they do succeed, families are the best advertisement for other families to offer permanent homes for children who need them (which in turn helps reduce the pressure on and churn in foster care).

To read more about the importance of supporting permanent care and adoptive families, read our Potential of Permanent Care report.

Contact Us

PO Box 201, Fitzroy VIC 3065