Abstract
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Australia is facing a significant shortage of foster carers, yet little is known about the
main reasons which prevent people from becoming foster carers. This study contributes to
filling this gap in knowledge. A survey of 897 respondents who have never been foster
carers indicates that – at the aggregate level – the main reasons that people do not become
carers are that: (i) they do not know anything about foster care; (ii) they are busy with
their own children or with work or family/friends commitments; and (iii) they have not
been asked by anyone to be a foster carer. However, if we use market segmentation to
group individuals according to whether they would consider fostering in the future or not,
then the results indicate that those who would not consider fostering are too busy with
family/friend commitments, have no interest in children, and feel that taking a child was
too big a commitment to make. These are all reasons that cannot easily be influenced or
changed. In contrast, people who would consider fostering in the future are more likely to
indicate that no one had ever asked them to foster. These findings highlight the fact that
the market of potential foster carers is not one homogenous group, and that simply
considering the barriers to involvement at the aggregate market level can mask the
different views of particular segments within the market.