Service event—living arrangement type, child under care code N[N]

Identifying and definitional attributes

• Children and Families, Superseded 22/11/2016

Value domain attributes

Representational attributes

Collection and usage attributes

CODE 1 Residential care

Where the placement is in a residential building whose purpose is to provide placements for children and where there are paid staff.

CODE 2 Family group home

Family group homes provide care to children in departmentally or community sector agency provided homes. These homes have live-in, non-salaried carers who are reimbursed and/or subsidised for  the provision of care.

CODE 3 Relatives/kin who are reimbursed

Where the caregiver is a relative (other than parents), considered to be family or a close friend, or is a member of the child or young person's community (in accordance with their culture) who is reimbursed (or who has been offered but declined reimbursement) by the state/territory for the
care of the child. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, a kinship carer may be another Indigenous person who is a member of their community, a compatible community or from the same language group.

CODE 4 Foster care

Where the caregiver is authorised and reimbursed (or was offered but declined reimbursement) by the state/territory for the care of the child and supported by an approved agency. There are varying degrees of reimbursement made to foster carers.

CODE 5 Other home based care (reimbursed)

Home-based care which does not fall into either of the categories ‘Relative(s)/kin who are reimbursed’ or ‘Foster care’.

CODE 6 Relatives/kin who are not reimbursed

Where the caregiver is a relative (other than parents), considered to be family or a close friend, or is a member of the child or young person's community (in accordance with their culture) who is not reimbursed by the state/territory for the care of the child.

CODE 7 Independent living

This includes private board and lead-tenant households.

CODE 8  Parents

A natural or substitute parent (spouse or natural parent, adoptive parent or spouse of an adoptive parent) who has an ongoing legal responsibility for the care and protection of a child.

CODE 9  Detention

Where the child was ordered by the court to reside for a specified time in a juvenile or adult correctional facility.

CODE 88 Other living arrangement

Includes living arrangements that do not fit into the above categories. This includes any placements made in disability services, psychiatric services, Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS), overnight child-care services, boarding schools, hospitals, hotels/motels and defence force. These living arrangements may have rostered and/or paid staff, and are generally not a home-like environment.

CODE 99 Not stated/inadequately described

Is used when the care arrangement in which a child lives is not recorded or is unknown.

Source and reference attributes

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2013. Child protection and support services National Minimum Data Set, data collection manual 2012-13. Canberra: AIHW.

Data element attributes

Collection and usage attributes

The living arrangement type refers to the living arrangement of the person at a particular point in time.

Each change in living arrangement should be recorded on a new line in the file.

Changes in living arrangement include:

• a change in the type of living arrangement (e.g. from home-based to a facility-based placement) or within living arrangement types
• a change in the venue/location (e.g. a change from one home-based placement to a different home-based placement).

For family group homes, if the carer left the home for more than 14 days at a time (e.g. annual leave), this should be recorded as a new living arrangement.

Source and reference attributes

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2013. Child protection national minimum data set, data collection manual 2012-13. Canberra: AIHW.

Relational attributes