Grandparents and other kin informally caring for children who might otherwise be in government-funded foster care are waiting for the public release of a Communities Tasmania report that was due two months ago.
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The Informal Kinship Care Review, conducted by Frank Ogle, is to inform how the government could better meet the needs of informal carers and was due for public release in November.
Communities Tasmania did not provide a new date for release when asked on Wednesday.
Kin Raising Kids secretary Frank Tyers said informal kinship carers are frustrated by the delay.
Human Services Minister Roger Jaensch provided funding to undertake the review into informal kindship care in Tasmania after pressure from groups such as Kin Raising Kids, who called for changes to the inequalities experienced by children in their care.
Grandparents and other informal kinship carers have publicly shared their experiences of hardship since 2019, and have advocated both state and federal governments for more support.
They were able to formally share their feedback for the review and now continue to hope for increased government support for kids in their care.
Mr Tyers said it is understood that there should be some support for informal carers to come out of the review but added: "we are yet to see that".
"We've always been a bit sceptical about where it [the review] goes because the mindset is, unfortunately, that it hasn't got a lot of teeth," he said.
"It is all controlled by the bureaucracy, which has been the case for a long time, and we are concerned by that.
"It seems like a cop-out again, especially since the report is now with the department [Communities Tasmania].
"Frank Ogle did his work, why isn't the report being made available? Why are they being secretive about it?"
Mr Tyers said informal carers were continually sidelined in out of home care matters.
"They are just being snubbed and it is completely unfair," he said.
"The onus is continually on the individuals to provide when clearly, they are not able to.
"That then impacts the children in care, where they are not being given what they should rightfully get."
A Communities Tasmania department spokesman did not provide a date for release.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances the report was not received until December 2020," he said.
"The government is currently considering the report and its recommendations and it will be published in due course."
