How many Australian children experience out-of-home care?

At 30 June 2009, more than 34,000 children and young people were in out-of-home care. The AIHW reports that the number of children in out-of-home care in Australia increased by 44 per cent between 1999 and 2009. The proportion of children in out-of-home care differs across jurisdictions, ranging from 4.3 per 1000 in Victoria to 9.4 per 1000 in New South Wales.

In 2008-09, the majority of children in out-of-home care were in home-based care (94 per cent), living either in foster care (47 per cent) or with relatives (45 per cent). A small proportion of children lived in residential care (4.8 per cent) or other care arrangements (2.7 per cent).

In 2009, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 0-17 years were over nine times as likely to be in out-of-home care as non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (44.8 per 1000 compared with 4.9 per 1000).