The protection of children is the sacred duty of us all,regardless of state
On 16 November 2009, the Australian Parliament issued an apology to Forgotten Australians and former child migrants.
About Forgotten Australians
Forgotten Australians - Who are we, what happened to us a child, where are we now and what has changed for 500,000 of us across all states and territories
Upwards of, and possibly more than 500 000 Australians experienced care in an orphanage, Home or other form of out-of-home care during the last century. As many of these people have had a family it is highly likely that every Australian either was, is related to, works with or knows someone who experienced childhood in an institution or o
Upwards of, and possibly more than 500 000 Australians experienced care in an orphanage, Home or other form of out-of-home care during the last century. As many of these people have had a family it is highly likely that every Australian either was, is related to, works with or knows someone who experienced childhood in an institution or out of home care environment
The term Forgotten Australians was first coined in 2004 by the Australian Government’s Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs to refer to people who experienced institutional or out-of-home care in Australia during the 20 Century.
The Australian Senate used the term when reporting on its 2003-04 Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care.
A large number of positive stories were heard by the Committee from people who with a great deal of love and support from partners, families and friends are now able to better come to terms with their past and live fuller and more satisfying adult lives.
The Committee considers that there has been wide scale unsafe, improper and unlawful care of children, a failure of duty of care, and serious and repeated breaches of statutory obligations.
It was common practice in many institutions to give each child an identification number which they kept throughout their time at that particular place. ’No one was referred to by name usually it was "you" or your number was called out’.
One of the most forceful issues that became apparent through this inquiry was the destruction of families that occurred through the institutionalisation of children. As described in an earlier chapter, children were placed in care for a number of reasons.
The vast majority came from large families. Families would be split with children sent to different institutions. Many would not see their parents again and with minimal or no effort made to keep siblings informed of each others whereabouts, let alone arrange meetings, families inevitably drifted apart, often permanently
QLD and Federal Labor Governments Apologies but no Action to Help Support Future Generations and Families
$100m was offered in redress by QLD state government in 2007 but without any identification documents or home ownership for mailing and delivery services of legal documents I don't know how much was claimed under this state redress scheme.
First Forgotten Australian to be removed from their home as a child in NSW and as a father in QLD
About Forgotten Australians and My Story
Access to records for forgotten Australians and identity
On 9 January 9, 2020, not long after receiving my childhood records and file from NSW I was removed from my family home and children only completed building on Australia Day 2018 by Queensland Government Department Justice Attorney General's Office including Brisbane Magistrates Court and QPS without any explanation or reason given why
I spent 40 years forgetting my childhood in NSW and the last 5 years fighting for my children and the right to be a father in QLD because I was not permitted to remove any joint property or personal belongings including my NSW childhood records and file obtained in November 2019, children's birth certificates, both born in Brisbane private hospital in 2009 and 2013, my Australian passport, my medical history and records, photo albums, QLD land titles certificates, Tax statements and receipts, bank and home loan statements, employment history and education, marriage certificate. This expires on 16th January 2025.
Care Leavers often face greater problems in providing verification of identity than other people. The circumstances and on-going consequences of their childhood can cause ongoing problems to Care Leavers in proving their identity.
Care Leavers report distress at being asked to continuously verify their identity, particularly when this involves needing to explain their life history to account for problems providing ‘common’ identity documents.
Care Leavers are a potentially vulnerable group of people. Everyone is different, and many have been traumatised through their childhood experiences which may have a long term impact on self- esteem, behaviour and interpersonal style of interaction
The records that document time in care may represent a very different view of reality to that perceived and experienced by the Care Leaver themselves. Recordkeeping of the past was a bureaucratic process, designed to serve the needs of the organisation or institution, not the people documented in the records.
Records of the past can be complex. They are often an interconnected set of
records. To be able to find a particular file it may be necessary to investigate
indexes, registers and supplementary finding aids that direct searchers to files.
Files can change their numbering over time as different people and systems are
introduced. This change of numbering can make the older index and register
entries invalid.
Often there is no such thing as ‘my file’. The records available relating to an individual may be extracts brought together from a range of different types of records – admission registers, punishment books, discharge registers. Only in some organisations were files maintained on individuals
Copies of all personal information records (subject to redactions where applied)
should be made available at no cost to the Care Leaver.
Where the records contain items that should belong to the individual Care Leaver,
the original of these documents should be provided, and a copy retained by the
Record Holders. This type of record includes:
• Original or extracts of birth certificates;
• Certificates of achievement;
• School reports;
• Correspondence addressed to the Care Leaver from relatives during their time in care;
• Photographs.