Regulator pauses major Mallee centre from taking on new foster children
Mallee Family Care has been ordered to improve quality assurance systems and oversight of its out of home care services. (ABC News: Charlotte King)
In short:
Mallee Family Care is no longer able to accept new foster care applications after a NSW state authority varied its conditions.
The NSW Office of the Children's Guardian has not revealed what led to the conditions imposed on the centre.
What's next?
Mallee Family Care has until the end of November to submit a review of its policies and procedures to the regulator.
A major foster care provider on the Victoria-NSW border has been barred from taking on new referrals to its foster care program, one year after the NSW regulator first demanded it improve its operations.
As of September 2, Mallee Family Care, which employs more than 300 staff, can no longer take on new referrals to its NSW out-of-home care program.
The Office of the Children's Guardian (OCG), the independent statutory authority in NSW, issued a notice of conditions on the centre, following routine monitoring.
"In some circumstances the Children's Guardian may impose a condition on an agency's accreditation preventing it from accepting further placements of children and young people," a spokesperson said in a statement.
"This is to enable the agency to consolidate practice improvements with children and young people already in its care."
The new Mallee Family Care headquarters is being built in Mildura. (ABC News: Tyrone Dalton)
Mallee Family Care is permitted to continue running existing foster care and home-based care programs.
The OCG can shorten or cancel the agency's accreditation if it fails to comply with any of the conditions.
The authority first varied the agency's permissions in September 2025, asking it for an improvement plan to improve areas including child protection and child safety, positive care environments, and the assessment and selection of carers, guardians and adoptive parents.
Mallee Family Care had until October 7 to provide an updated continuous improvement plan which would address the areas for improvement the authority detailed privately in September 2025 and September 2026.
The Office of the Children's Guardian said it would continue to monitor the company.
The agency must also review its policies and procedures for the NSW permanency support program to make sure they meet the regulator's Code of Practice, and submit them for assessment by November 27.
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