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 kinship care as at 31 July each year.
| Year | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4, 182 | 35.0% |
| 2024 | 4, 067 | 35.0% |
| 2023 | 4, 148 | 34.0% |
| 2022 | 4, 226 | 34.0% |
| 2021 | 4, 410 | 33.0% |
| 2020 | 4, 456 | 31.0% |
| 2019 | 4, 175 | 29.0% |
Notes
Reporting period: 31 July 2025
Last updated: April 2026
Next Update due: April 2027
Expanded Content
The number of children living in kinship care rose slightly between 2024 (4,067) and 2025 (4,182). The latest figure in 2025 is similar to the number in 2019, having increased between 2019 and 2020.
Under the context of a falling overall number of looked after children, the proportion of children in the “care system” living with kinship carers (with friends or relatives) has increased by 6 percentage points since 2019. Each year since 2022, kinship care has been the most common place where children experiencing care live.