Government cuts the ribbon on therapeutic home for vulnerable children

24 July 2025

The Minns Labor Government has opened the latest in a growing network of government-owned residential homes, ensuring more vulnerable children in out-of-home care (OOHC) are moved from unsuitable emergency accommodation into stable, therapeutic setting.

The Waratah Care Cottage at Blacktown in Western Sydney is the fourth new property designed to keep sibling groups in the OOHC system together, with a sibling group of three already identified to move into the new cottage in the coming weeks.

The cottages support children who were living in High-Cost Emergency Arrangements (HCEAs) who cannot be immediately placed with relatives or foster carers, with the former government’s arrangements often seeing sibling groups split up.  

The Blacktown cottage opening builds on a $49.2 million investment in 44 government-owned homes for children in OOHC with the most complex needs as part of the record $1.2 billion Child Protection Package in the 2025-26 Budget – the largest in NSW history.

The purpose-built and upgraded homes will accommodate up to four children each, providing:

• Trauma-informed care in a stable environment tailored to support recovery and wellbeing
• Improved safety and permanency outcomes
• A reduction in the number of children in High-Cost Emergency Arrangements (HCEAs)
• Greater flexibility for government to respond to placement needs
• Better staffing models that increase visibility and accountability, and reduce service delivery costs

The new homes will be located in metropolitan Sydney and regional areas including the Hunter, using both new construction and upgrades to existing government-owned properties.

This investment reverses the former Liberal and National Government’s complete outsourcing of residential care services, which stripped away public oversight and control, and left vulnerable children without the protections they deserve.

In our first two years, the Minns Labor Government:

• Ended unaccredited emergency accommodation for vulnerable children – meaning no children are living in places like hotels and motels as of April this year
• Reduced the number of children placed in all types of High-Cost Emergency Arrangements (HCEAs) by 35 per cent since November 2023
• Restarted the recruitment of foster carers in the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), a critical program which was disgracefully abandoned by the Liberals and Nationals more than a decade ago
• Recruited more than 240 emergency carers so far, who have kept hundreds of children out of emergency arrangements
• Announced the first real increase in the Foster Care Allowance in 20 years, with $143.9 million budgeted to recognise the critical role of foster carers to keep NSW children safe
• Delivered a record $350 million investment for family preservation programs delivered by Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations
• Invested $191.5 million to recruit more than 200 new caseworkers and retain 2,126 caseworkers with higher pay and more specialised training, as well as 100 new leading caseworker roles
• Redeployed our best and brightest casework specialists back to the frontline. Already this means more than 300 additional vulnerable children have been given support
• Insourced 300 family time workers, directly employing staff to keep children in OOHC connected to their parents
• Released a comprehensive roadmap for reform

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said:

“This new cottage builds on our record $1.2 billion investment to protect and support the most vulnerable children in NSW.

“We are building the capacity of the child protection system to provide safer, more stable care — and reversing years of neglect under the former government.

“Every dollar we invest in frontline services and stable homes is an investment in a better future for these children.”

Minister for Families and Communities Kate Washington said:

“These children have experienced the most serious trauma — and they deserve care, stability, and a real chance to heal.

“For too long, too many children with complex needs have been let down by a system that isn’t providing what they need most: a safe and stable home.

“The government’s historic investment will help us change that. It means purpose-built homes, specially trained staff, and a care environment that supports recovery and hope.

“The Minns Labor Government is rebuilding the system from the ground up — putting children’s safety, wellbeing and futures at the centre of everything we do.”

Member for Blacktown Stephen Bali said: 

“I’m incredibly proud that this new Waratah Care Cottage will play a critical role in protecting vulnerable children – and keeping siblings together here in Blacktown.

“It’s not just a house – it’s a safe and supportive home where children get the care and stability they deserve.

“This is what real change looks like on the ground, and I’m pleased to see it’s happening right here in Blacktown.”