The 24-year-old spent the bulk of 2023 searching for the perfect home amid a tough housing market and difficulty securing a loan, eventually moving in during September.

Buying your first home is no mean feat, but Cortney has faced extra challenges to achieve her goal, having taken on the care of her sister, then 11, at 18 years old after she moved into her first rental property.

This followed her spending time in care herself as a child.

She said her biggest sacrifices were scheduling her work commitments around caring for her sister *Charlotte, and not always being able to go out with her friends as a young woman.

“I had to change my schedule to be able to have an 11-year-old,” Cortney said.

“I had to be there for the pick-ups and the drop-offs and the meltdowns. I was trying to work three jobs and raise her at the same time.”

Throughout her journey, Cortney has received support through her Department for Child Protection (DCP) kinship care worker, and their trusting relationship helps her talk through and manage her challenges.

Like other kinship and foster carers, she receives financial support to help cover expenses associated with caring for her sister. The department has also provided funding for her to study a Certificate 3 in Education Support and helped her access the Federal Government’s Transition to Independent Living Allowance.

Cortney said despite the challenge of juggling her commitments, caring for her sister came very naturally.

“I always raised (my siblings), even when I was little,” the Murraylands woman said.

“I felt really lucky to have that opportunity to have her come and live with me.

“She gives me Mother’s Day presents and she always lets me take on that role. She often says how grateful and appreciative she is.”

Cortney, who works in a child care centre and is also studying child care at the Australian Institute of Early Childhood Studies, is eying a future career in occupational therapy, specialising in children’s services.

She struggled to find a bank that would lend her the money for her new home, finally accessing the finance from HomeStart after finding “the one”.

“We walked in and I just looked at it and said to (Charlotte), this is the one. She agreed and I put the offer in the same day.”

Cortney is “very excited” to work on a range of projects such as putting in a lawn, growing fruit trees and installing a rainwater tank.

“We’ve got lots of goals that we’re working towards.”

*Name has been changed for privacy reasons