PeakCare’s position on licensed and unlicensed residential care services in Queensland (2023)

There has been a significant increase in the proportion of children and young people placed in residential care settings over the last decade as a result of a number of factors including limited family-based care capacity and options. In July 2023, the Honourable Craig Crawford MP, Minister for Child Safety and Minister for Seniors and Disability Services, announced a comprehensive review of Queensland’s residential care system. The review has been designed to be comprehensive and collaborative with consultations occurring with a diverse range of stakeholders, including system partners, departmental staff, funded non-government service providers, community members, and people with lived experience.

The outcomes of the review will be used to develop evidence-based policies and initiatives aimed at strengthening the child protection system. These initiatives will focus on reducing Queensland’s over-reliance on residential care, expanding and improving the care arrangements available for children and young people, supporting the development of life skills for children-in-care, and ensuring that children and young people in care have the same opportunities as their peers to thrive and achieve their full potential.

It has been of long concern to PeakCare, and more recently highlighted throughout the review process, that there is disproportionate number of unlicensed services providing residential care to children and young people in Queensland.

PeakCare believes residential care is an important placement option within the out-of-home care ecosystem and services providing this type of care should be licensed.

PeakCare understands there remain significant barriers for organisations seeking to achieving licensing including concerns the process for licensing of providers and service provision is significantly burdensome and overregulated. We believe there continues to be significant barriers for organisations who seek to become licensed including the cost of meeting and maintaining licensing requirements, the timeframes required by the department and the model of licensing that requires organisation to be invited-in to the process by DCSSDS.

While Queensland’s residential care review is in its initial stages, there are clear opportunities to improve outcomes for children and young people in residential care settings. A clear emerging opportunity to decrease significant systemic barriers and enhance quality of care involves reviewing licenced care provision. PeakCare sees four (4) key opportunity areas. This includes addressing the:

1. barriers to becoming a licensed care provider – there is stringent criteria to become a licensed provider, resulting in many services providers being ineligible to become licensed. Reviewing the criteria is essential to encourage providers to become licensed.
2. ambiguity around the licensing process – the unclear nature of the application process often results in confusion for services wanting to become a licensed provider. Simplifying processes involved with licensing requirements and providing support to providers to increase their knowledge and understanding will enable services to effectively navigate the process.
3. complicated application and renewal processes – the regulation requirements needed to undertake approval and re-approval processes have resulted in significant administrative burden and misunderstanding of requirements. Streamlining of processes and increased support to assist providers through the licensing process is required to enable providers to successfully achieve licensing.
4. high costs to become and maintain licensing – the costs associated with becoming and maintaining licensing is contributing to significant financial burden on services. Financial support through contract management needs to reflect these increased costs and pressure.

We welcome feedback and questions. Please contact PeakCare Qld by phone (07) 3368 1050 or email office@peakcare.org.au