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Caring for Children
Owned and managed by Department of Communities & Justice

Code of Conduct for Authorised Carers

This Code of Conduct is for authorised foster, relative and kinship carers, prospective guardians and dually authorised prospective adoptive parents currently providing authorised care. These groups of people are referred to as ‘carers’ throughout the Code of Conduct.A designated agency is an organisation accredited to arrange and supervise out-of-home care services. They are referred to as ‘agency’ throughout the Code of Conduct.Children or young people will be referred to as child or children throughout the Code of Conduct.

What carers can expect from DCJ

Authorised carers can expect to be:

Respect and participation

  • Recognised for the important things you do that help the child and the community more broadly.
  • Supported in your role as a carer and respected as someone with your own needs including being able to access supports both within your family and community as well as from your agency. Support options should be tailored to the child and your needs and can include sleepovers, overnight camps, extended visits with significant people in the child’s life or their extended family.
  • Valued for what you bring to the role, including your language, cultural heritage, religious beliefs and life experience.
  • Entitled to participate in making decisions concerning the safety, welfare and well-being of the child in your care.
  • Respected for your opinion and consulted on decisions about the care of a child. There are some decisions that, as the child’s carer, you can make and some decisions that are the responsibility of your agency or the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (formerly FACS) but your opinion should always be considered and respected.
  • Encouraged to participate in and provide your views in case planning and review and case management.
  • Entitled to nominate a support person to be present when attending meetings with your agency.
  • Entitled to access personal information held on file by your agency about you.
  • Provided with information about your agency’s complaints process.

Information

  • Provided with a copy of the NSW Charter of Rights for Children and Young People in Out-of-Home Care in NSW.
  • Provided with a clearly expressed statement of purpose of your agency.
  • Provided with all relevant information that is available about the child in your care to help you care for the child and understand and meet their needs.
  • Provided with all relevant known information to ensure your safety and the safety of other members of your household.
  • Given clear, written information and training on your legal responsibilities as a carer and any reporting obligations required by your agency.
  • Given clear information about reportable conduct and your agencies’ obligation to record, investigate and respond to allegations of reportable conduct against an employee (including carers and adult members of a carer’s home). Reportable conduct is any sexual offence or sexual misconduct committed against, with or in the presence of a child (including a child pornography offence); any assault, ill-treatment or neglect of a child; and any behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm to a child.
  • Provided with information about the process of investigations and advised of the outcome of any investigation within a reasonable timeframe.
  • Provided with access to an interpreter, as required, when important decisions are being made about your relationship with your agency and/or the child in your care.
  • Provided with information about foster, relative and kinship carer support networks, including 24 hour support numbers, which can support you in your role as an authorised carer.

Support and training

  • Entitled to access the services of government funded agencies such as My Forever Family NSW or AbSec NSW Peak Aboriginal Corporation, that provide support, training and resources to all NSW carers.
  • Provided with ongoing training and resources to support the child in your care to feel safe and develop a sense of security as well as caring for yourself.
  • Provided with support, resources and assistance to ensure the child’s health, wellbeing and educational needs are met.
  • Provided with support and assistance to help address trauma-related issues for a child in your care.
  • Provided with support and assistance for a child with a disability and disability related issues.
  • Provided with training and support on ways to encourage positive behaviour in children in out-of-home care, including appropriate actions to respond to challenging behaviours.
  • Supported and trained to implement cultural support plans for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse children in your care.
  • Provided with access to support services if a reportable conduct investigation occurs.