Vision statement one: Where children are safe in their families and feel loved, they must stay— and families must be given support together to nurture that love and overcome the difficulties which get in the way.
The rate of children entering care decreases. For those that do need to enter care, a higher proportion are able to stay living at home with parents, or in a family setting.
Number and percentage of children who are living in foster care as at 31 July each year.
| Year | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3, 377 | 27.0% |
| 2024 | 3, 651 | 31.0% |
| 2023 | 3, 890 | 32.0% |
| 2022 | 4, 115 | 33.0% |
| 2021 | 4, 446 | 34.0% |
| 2020 | 4, 744 | 33.0% |
| 2019 | 4, 798 | 34.0% |
Notes
Reporting period: 31 July 2025
Last updated: April 2026
Next Update due: April 2027
Expanded Content
The number of children living in foster care fell from 3,651 in 2024 to 3,377 in 2025. This marked a fall of 30% since 2019. By comparison, the overall number of children in the care system reduced by 17% between 2019 and 2025.
The proportion of children in the “care system” living with foster carers has declined from 31% in 2024 to 29% in 2025. This marks a fall of 5 percentage points since the baseline in 2019 (34%) with most of the decrease occurring in the last two years.