Victoria calls for stronger support for families during reunification with children — ABC News Australia
In the Australian state of Victoria, child protection specialists have called for stronger support for families reuniting with children after out-of-home care. The calls came after the death of an eight-month-old child less than three days after being returned to their biological parents, ABC News Australia reports.
A foster mother identified as Sasha for legal reasons spoke about a six-year-old girl who has been in her care since infancy. According to Sasha, the child experienced repeated trauma because of court-ordered visits with her biological mother. She claims that the mother failed to attend about half of the scheduled visits and that the child needed several weeks to calm down after contact with her.
Timeframes for reunification
Previously, Victoria's legislation gave biological parents a two-year period to regain custody of a child after the child was placed out of home. In May 2026, the Children, Youth and Families (Stability) Act 2026 came into force, abolishing the time limit for family reunification orders.
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Heather Bird, founder of A Better Life For Foster Kids, who grew up in the foster care system herself, said that children often resist meetings with their parents. According to her, in some cases children may have experienced abuse by their biological parents, or the parents had issues related to substance use or mental health. Bird called for the two-year limit to be reinstated and strictly enforced.
Need for comprehensive assistance
Wendy Sturgess, head of Children and Family Services, believes that the principle of reunification is right if parents are properly prepared and supported and can work through their own trauma. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, about 81% of children placed in care in Victoria return home within two years.
Roz Amedi, director of advocacy and communications at Women's Legal Service, said that the key problem is not the length of the reunification period but a lack of housing, support for people with disabilities, services for survivors of family violence, and court delays. Former National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds stressed that a child's return should take place gradually with the involvement of qualified specialists. She also noted that an analysis of recommendations from royal commissions and inquiries into child protection between 2010 and 2022 identified more than 3,000 recommendations that were repeated because they had not been implemented.
