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Foster Care
Become a Foster Carer with RSPCA Queensland
Foster a Life. Change a Life.
Foster carers play a vital role in the lives of vulnerable animals. By providing a temporary home, you’re giving animals the time, care, and space they need to recover, grow, or simply escape the stress of the shelter environment—until they’re ready for their forever families.
Whether it's a kitten too young for adoption, a dog recovering from surgery, or a pet escaping a crisis, you can be the difference that saves a life.
Why Foster?
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Make a real difference—help animals get their second chance
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Short-term commitment with life-changing impact
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All supplies and support provided by RSPCA
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Perfect for animal lovers who can’t adopt long-term
How to Become a Foster Carer
Getting started is easy—and you can complete the process from home!
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Submit an application form so we can get to know you
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Complete our short, online foster training
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Send in photos of your property for a virtual safety check
Once approved, you’ll receive weekly foster lists and can let us know when you're available. We’ll then match you with animals who need your help.
Who Needs Foster Care?
Animals come into our care for many reasons. You may be asked to foster:
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Puppies and kittens too young for rehoming
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Animals recovering from illness or injury
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Animals needing behavioural support and socialisation
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Pets seeking safety due to domestic violence situations
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Animals displaced by natural disasters like floods or bushfires
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Home Ever After pets whose owners are in hospital or have passed away
📍 Foster needs vary by location.
Please check the foster regions below for current priority animals near you.
Things to Know Before You Apply
To ensure the safety and wellbeing of our animals, please keep in mind:
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Foster carers must be 18+ and have access to reliable transport
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Landlord/body corporate approval is required if you rent
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Existing pets must be up to date on vaccinations
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Flexibility with the type of animal you foster increases your chances of being matched
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Foster placements typically range from 2 weeks to 6 months, depending on the animal’s needs
Ready to Open Your Heart and Home?
Explore your local foster region below to begin your application and join a compassionate community of carers helping animals in need—one foster at a time.
Fostering Regions Available
Rescue
Currently recruiting volunteers for Townsville and Toowoomba!
Answer the Call of Compassion: Unleash Your Heroic Spirit with RSPCA QLD's Inspectorate & Rescue Team!
Embark on a heroic journey that will touch your soul! Join our Inspectorate & Rescue team and become a lifeline for animals in need. In 2022 alone, a staggering 28,177 creatures received our life-saving assistance through our dedicated Rescue Units. Among them, an astonishing 77% were the magnificent treasures of Australian wildlife—our native birds, possums, koalas, kangaroos, and wallabies.As a Rescue Unit Driver or Rescue Unit Assistant volunteer, you'll be at the forefront of these daring missions, making a tangible impact on the lives of animals in distress.
If being out on the road and rescuing animals is appealing to you, the Rescue Unit Driver or Rescue Unit Assistant volunteer roles might suit you! These roles are also perfectly suited to people who want to volunteer together, such as teaming up with a friend or partner.
Volunteer Positions Available
Rockhampton
As an animal welfare organisation, RSPCA Qld have a variety of different volunteer roles available.
If you're keen to volunteer with us in Rockhampton, please have a look at our current vacancies and submit an application.
Animal Care & Animal Support roles
General Driver | Rockhampton
What to expect
If you are passionate about animal welfare and looking for a rewarding volunteer role then perhaps consider becoming a driver for RSPCA Qld. Being a large organisation, responsible for the care of over 50,000 animals annually, we are looking for reliable individuals to help transport both domestic and wild animals locally and regionally, and help with other tasks, such as collecting donated food.
Every day we need assistance moving animals between campuses, pounds facilities, rehoming centres, vet surgeries and carers. You would be provided with all the necessary equipment, including an RSPCA vehicle, during your shift. Please note drivers must have an open licence.
What are the benefits?
- Gain a greater understanding of the RSPCA operations
- Becoming part of a friendly new team and making a great contribution to the ability of the RSPCA to raise much needed funds
What are the tasks?
The position involves transporting wildlife and domestic patients as required and includes:
- Significant driving around the greater Brisbane/Gold Coast/Sunshine coast area, using an RSPCA vehicle.
- Transporting animals between animal care centres
- Collecting and transporting animals from vet clinics back to animal care centres
What skills and characteristics do I need?
- Be a courteous and considerate driver
- Good communication skills
- Hold a clean, manual open drivers license
- Sound driving skills and the ability to cope in traffic
- Physically fit and able to lift 10kg
- Good animal handling skills
When can I volunteer?
- We are looking for drivers who can volunteer on a regular basis, and those who can do on-call driving.
- Please be aware that due to the nature of this role we ask you to be flexible to an extent with your shift time – it can be difficult to judge the length of a particular trip due to changing traffic and weather conditions
- We request a minimum commitment of one shift per week for a minimum of 3 months. Orientation and animal training will be provided
PLEASE NOTE: It is also a requirement that before handling animals at the RSPCA you have an up to date Tetanus vaccination.
For further information, please contact our Brisbane Volunteer Coordinator on 3426 9915 or volunteering@rspcaqld.org.au, or fill in the application above.
Toowoomba
Join the Fun and Make a Pawsitive Difference at our Toowoomba Animal Care Centre!
Looking for a rewarding way to spend your time? Love animals and want to make a meaningful impact on their lives? Look no further!
We have an exciting volunteer opportunity that's perfect for animal enthusiasts like you. Get ready for an amazing experience that will leave you with a wagging tail!
General Interests
Wacol Animal Care Campus
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As an animal welfare organisation, RSPCA Qld have a variety of different volunteer roles involving hands-on animal interaction.
These roles are incredibly rewarding, but be warned - keeping animals happy and healthy requires a lot of cleaning! It can be physically demanding, and we need assistance every day of the year - whether it's sunshine or rain, a public holiday or a weekday. Of course, it's not just cleaning; there's plenty of opportunities for enrichment activities too.
Volunteer roles can involve working with:
- Domestic animals (dogs, cats, pocket pets, or farmyard) at one of our Animal Care Centres
- Domestic animals recovering from illness or medical procedures at the Domestic Hospital or clinic
- Wildlife animals recovering or rehabilitating in preparation for release to the wild, or to a wildlife carer for further rehabilitation
- Gardening & Maintenance
- Administration Support and Department roles
If you're keen to volunteer in an animal care role, please have a look at our current vacancies below and submit an application. Please also read the important information box below before you apply.
Volunteer Applications – Important Information - Read before applying
At present, we are unable to accommodate volunteers who require the support of a support worker due to current program capacity.
To ensure a safe and supported experience for all, applicants must be able to perform their volunteer role independently. Applications that do not meet this requirement, or fail to disclose the need for support, will not be accepted at this time.
Please note we are unable to provide work experience or offer any student placements (exceptions being placements organised through university or tertiary programs).
