Their once pristine and well-ordered home has endured a few scuffed walls, sporadic disarray and some wear and tear over recent years.

But the couple have happily traded away a serene, fastidious house for the spirited, loving and often-challenging home they now share with their 10-year-old foster daughter.

“It’s absolutely full of laughter — and sometimes screams and tantrums,” Narelle smiles. “It has enriched our lives. We had the capacity to turn life around for a little girl, a life that was looking pretty bad.”

Narelle and Vivienne figured they had a head start when it came to foster-parenting, being social workers with a combined 40 years of experience. They know Queensland’s child safety system, understand why children from troubled backgrounds act out and have managed difficult behaviour.

Still, when they decided to open their home to a foster child, they planned to test the waters by doing respite care. This would have given them a chance to care for a child for an hour, a day or a weekend while the permanent foster parents had a break.

“But then a little girl with very complex needs came up and the agency thought we would be best placed to help her,” Narelle said.

“We went into it with our eyes open but, having said that, being a foster carer is very different to being on the other side of the fence. It’s very different when the behaviour is in your home 24 hours a day.”

The child had revolved through placements before she was six and remained significantly traumatised.

She is now 10 and has lived with Narelle and Vivienne for four years. Good parenting, love and therapy are a having a positive effect.

“When she started school she was aggressive and withdrawn,” Narelle says. “Now she has a wonderful group of friends. She’s confident, delightful and funny. We think she’s remarkable.

“I just delight in her. She’s a superhero, a phenomenal little girl. No adult I know could have experienced the horrendous life she’s had and wake up with a smile every day.

Narelle and Vivienne’s family has grown exponentially since their foster child’s arrival. Their suburban backyard has evolved into a farm with the addition of beds of vegetables and herbs, a flock of free-range chickens, ducks congregating around a small pond, plump guinea pigs and a young goat called Kid who drinks from a bottle and teat.

All this came about in the years since the couple’s foster child joined the household. The trio sells surplus vegetables and eggs and bond over their love for the animals. Kid is expected to start supplying milk within months.

The couple’s little girl has started to express love with spontaneous hugs and expressions of attachment.

“We frequently find little notes under our computer keyboard saying ‘Mummy and Mumma, I love you to the moon and back!’” Narelle says.

The couple acknowledge that it’s been a long, hard road and the trio still has far to go. With complex cases, Vivienne says, it’s crucial to take on just one foster child and engage closely with case workers.

“We’re a team of equals and we’re all in there for one purpose: to love and support this little girl,” she says. “We have the belief that if we work with one child well we can make a profound difference.

“We try to keep everybody on the same page as to how she’s feeling and what’s happening. A lot of people would see her behaviour as being very naughty, when really it’s a reaction to anxiety.

“It takes constant reassurance that we love her no matter what her behaviour, that she’s a very special little girl and — although that behaviour is not acceptable — we still love her.”

Both fear their foster daughter’s life and prospects would have been vastly different without intervention.

“She would have been in residential care, where you live with a whole bunch of other children, sometimes in a motel, with youth workers coming and going,” Narelle says.

“She would have dropped out of school. She used to say that she didn’t want to be alive any more. She came with this belief that she is naughty and unlovable. If she had not come to us her trajectory would have been really dark.”

Narelle resigned from her job to focus on caring for their child and easing her journey through rehabilitation.

“There have been times when we have had to rock our little girl to sleep like a baby, because that’s what she needed,” Narelle says. “Her behaviour comes from a place of terror, not naughtiness.

“I also think we’ve parented six kids in one because there are days when our child is like a three-month-old and other days when she’s like a 15-year-old.”

Narelle and Vivienne’s decision to become foster parents sent ripples through their wider circle of family and friends, generating much love and support.

“We had four days to get ready, and we had nothing,” Narelle laughs. “We ran around to get furniture and buy clothes and sheets for the single bed we didn’t have. We put the message out on email and our friends and family came running, not only to support us but to support our child as well.

“We’ve always included our extended family in helping, being part of the team.

“It’s made them more aware. I think our nieces and nephew will grow into compassionate and aware adults; it’s expanded their understanding of the world.”

The women suggest would-be foster parents discuss the decision with their families and friends. In the same way that it takes a village to raise a child, new foster parents need a wide and strong network for children’s toys and clothing, support, time out, play dates and, occasionally, tea and sympathy.

“Sit down and talk to your family and friends. Tell them what you’re planning to do — not to ask for permission but for their support,” Narelle advises.

Vivienne believes becoming a foster mum has deepened her professional skills, expanded the lives of their extended families and allowed her to give back to their community.

Narelle says her heart swells to see the positive changes taking place almost daily.

“I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve changed a little girl’s life; I’m incredibly proud of her,” she says. “If you want to make a difference, this is one of the most difficult, life-changing and rewarding ways to do it.

“To expose kids to love, kindness and compassion when they’ve never experienced it in their lives is a phenomenal thing. You do get to make an incredible difference in the life of a child.”