Kinship Alliance Australia

The National Kinship Care Organisation of Australia

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Kinship care is defined as family-based care within the child’s extended family or friendship network, whether formal or informal in nature (United Nations, 2010).

About us

Kinship Alliance Australia supports all kinship care families:

Families headed by grandparents, other relatives and family friends or people known to children through community connections.
Informal and formal (child protection) care arrangements.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous families
In every State and Territory.

We currently have 30 Affiliated Organisations and 169 individual Supporters. 94 grandparent and other kinship carer support groups in all States and Territories are listed on this website.

In 2026 we’re presenting in multiple States & Territories, working with Federal Parliament to improve services, and building our national network. Read more in our May newsletter and contact us anytime with your ideas and questions.

Issues faced by Australian kinship families

Invisibility of kinship care families

Kinship carers are not recognised in the 2010 Commonwealth Carer Recognition Act, hence not eligible for carer services.
Kinship Carers are not recognised as Parents - hence not eligible for parental leave.
Lack of appropriate documentation often leads to difficulty obtaining birth certificates and Medicare cards for children in their care.
Kinship carers are not recognised as adoptive parents - hence not eligible for adoption leave.

Poverty in informal kinship care families

Research shows poverty is the biggest issue for informal kinship care families.

Many carers are pensioners or renters, often in overcrowded housing or public housing.

Some have remortgaged their homes or given up study or work to provide care.

Voices of carers and young people

I never thought it as a form of care. I just thought I was going to stay with Nana or Grandad for this long time and that’s it. It didn’t seem weird or strange to me anyway … I still went to the same school, the same sort of things. Still had that same sense of stability, constancy. It was just a different location that you lived, a different person you lived with. (David, 21)

[What do people need to know about young kinship carers?]

That we exist. And that it’s not just grandparents taking care of children. (Mandy, older sister, 30)

She may not be a blood family but who says blood is needed to make a family? They say friends come and go but family is forever. If you’ve had friends who have stuck by you through the worst then personally in my eyes they are family. (Oscar, 19)

We love caring for all the children and see them develop and gain confidence. It is not an easy path at times but it is not dull! Kinship care seems to be the ‘Cinderella’ of care, so I hope your research project might help these people. (Grandmother survey respondent)

Join Kinship Alliance Australia

Kinship carers, support workers, organisations, support groups and anyone with an interest in the wellbeing of kinship families are all welcome to join for free.

Recognition for Australia’s grandparent/kinship carers

Did you know that grandparent and other kinship carers are not legally recognised as Carers?

The 2010 Commonwealth Carer Recognition Act defines a Carer as someone providing unpaid care to a person with a disability, mental illness, frailty or serious illness.

Each State and Territory also has its own Carer Recognition Act. Some are like the Commonwealth Act, but others include kinship carers. For example, Queensland recognises all grandparent carers, and three other States recognise some kinship carers but not others. Check whether kinship carers are recognised the Carer Recognition Act in your State/Territory.

The 2023 Parliamentary Inquiry into the Recognition of Unpaid Carers received submissions recommending the inclusion of grandparent/kinship carers in the Commonwealth Carer Recognition Act. Despite these, the Inquiry Report affirmed the existing Commonwealth definition of a Carer. Worse, the Report recommended removing recognition of grandparent/kinship carers from State and Territory Acts where existing.

Grandparent and other kinship carers have a challenging 24/7 task, with precious little support available. How can this Inquiry recommendation be construed as recognising, valuing and supporting unpaid carers?

Don’t let this happen! Write to your Federal MP using this template, or your own words. Tell your Member of Parliament that Grandparent and other Kinship Carers exist, and that they are 24/7 full‑time Carers. Grandparent/kinship carers deserve recognition!