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7,000 Aussies receive up to $500 in new payments

Are you eligible for the new payment? Images: Getty
Are you eligible for the new payment? Images: Getty

The Western Australian government will deliver $500 payments to foster family carers, guardians and grandcarers in a bid to lessen the financial sting for those families.

Minister for Child Protection Simone McGurk announced the $3.7 million package on Saturday, noting that around 7,359 children in carer households will be the beneficiaries of the payments.

People in foster carer roles will receive $500 for the first child in their care and $250 for each other additional child in the household. The payments will be sent directly to foster and family carers, special guardian and grandcarers and community sector organisation foster carers from September.

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Another $300,000 will be made available to help children and carers access therapeutic and consultation support.

"Foster carers, grandcarers and special guardian carers do incredible work day in and day out, and we know that work became more challenging at the height of the pandemic,” McGurk said.

"These carers stepped up when the vulnerable children in their care were kept home from school to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and asking questions about why they were being made to stay at home.”

She said the financial cost of Covid-19 has been huge for many West Australians, and that supporting foster carers will bring out the best outcomes for kids in care.

“It will also help to reduce the strain on these households at a time of need, offering greater support to carers seeking to create stable placements for the children they look after.”

The Western Australian government is due to release a report on its Foster Care Refresh project which aims to identify the ways to deliver the best outcomes for kids in care.

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