Foster Carer and Kinship Carer Payments

Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (14:50): My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development. Can the minister explain—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer is called to order.

Ms SANDERSON: —why she has restricted the extension of foster carer payments to those caring for people who are studying full-time or in apprenticeships, given that many young people in care are unable to work or study full-time due to mental health issues or simply cannot find any work?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Higher Education and Skills) (14:50): The member for Adelaide is referring to our response to a recommendation from Margaret Nyland in her royal commission report. She recommended that we consider not only continuing the current practice of when a person under care turns 18 continuing to offer support to the foster carers if they are still at school, but also extending that to post-school study options.

We have decided to agree with that recommendation. It will assist a great number of young people as they transition to adulthood to be able to continue to remain in a family-based environment while they undertake further study. We have included not only tertiary education but also the VET sector, whether that is TAFE or another provider, in order to ensure that we offer what is the case for very many biological children; that is, that they stay at home while they are still studying. That is a recommendation Margaret Nyland made that we were pleased to follow.