Foster carers won't be disadvantaged by OHS laws

The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Financial Services and Superannuation, Bill Shorten, MP, has revealed that harmonised OHS laws will not cover social or domestic arrangements. A foster carer’s relationship with the child is a domestic arrangement.

The laws do not cover what occurs in the home after a child has been placed. They state that a foster parent caring for a child is carrying out a social role in a domestic setting and therefore the activities are not defined as ‘work’.

These laws were developed by all jurisdictions together and were endorsed in December 2009 by all workplace relations Ministers across Australia. 

Safe Work Australia has already issued interpretive guidelines that assist regulators, employers, workers and the courts in interpreting the model laws.

These cover the issue of what is work - but in order to provide greater certainty to the sector, the Government will work with the states to add any additional guidelines that are necessary to make it clear how the Act applies in domestic and social environments, including foster carers in the home.

The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations has convened a meeting with peak volunteer and not-for-profit groups to allay such concerns and provide any additional guidance that may be necessary to assist these groups.