Turning carer experience into insight.
Carers talk to each other on Hatch in ways they can't always talk to government, agencies or service providers. Over time, that trust can help Hatch see what's happening for carers, and share what we learn constructively.
Community first. Insight follows.
Hatch exists for carers first, not to collect data about them. A trusted community means honest conversation, and honest conversation helps carers support each other. Over time, recurring experiences, in aggregated and anonymised form, can give us and the wider sector a clearer picture of what helps carers keep caring.
Trusted community
Carer participation
Collective knowledge
State of Foster Care insights
Opportunities for system improvement
An emerging body of work.
Carer wellbeing is closely tied to whether care stays available. As the Hatch community grows, we're developing a framework for understanding the conditions that help carers keep caring, and the early signals that show when those conditions are under strain.
Wellbeing
Whether a carer has the day-to-day capacity to sustain the role.
Agency
Whether a carer feels able to raise a hand or ask a question.
Support
Whether help is actually reachable when it's needed.
Trust
Whether a carer believes the system will respond well to what they share.
Where this work is up to
The framework
The four conditions above, and recurring themes from the community, are still being developed.
Findings
We'll list findings here as they're ready to share responsibly.
Ongoing reporting
Regular State of Foster Care reporting, and constructive engagement with government and the sector.
This work draws only on aggregated, anonymised patterns, not on identifiable conversations. Patterns prompt questions; they don't on their own prove causes.
The context this sits in.
Sources: AIHW Child Protection Australia 2023–24 (National Out-of-Home Care Standards indicators); NSW Government media release “Rebuilding services for young people in out-of-home care” (24 June 2025).