Wattle Place (NSW)
Part of Relationships Australia New South Wales, Wattle Place was officially opened in 2010, following the Federal Apology to Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants the previous year. It provides support through counselling, brokerage funding, records access and family tracing, casework and social connection. It traces its foundation to "the hard work, commitment, dedication and persistence of amazing individuals and groups who fought tirelessly for decades to get recognition and justice for the wrongs that had been done to them", and in particular the subsequent 'Forgotten Australians' Report in 2004, that recommended the establishment of support services such as Wattle Place.
Lotus Place (Qld)
In 1998 the Esther Centre was established in Brisbane. It followed a collaboration called the Esther Project from 1994-1997, established by Catholic communities and parishes in Brisbane to address the impact of violence in Christian communities. Over this period it expanded its focus to the abuse of power in church and State institutions. In 1999, along with a community organisation called Micah Projects, the Esther Centre was awarded a Grant to support people impacted by the Forde Inquiry. In 2006, it was renamed as Lotus Place.
Forde Foundation (Qld)
Established in response to a recommendation of Queensland's Forde Inquiry, the Forde Foundation provides small grants and other support for Care Leavers.
LOSS / ForWards (Vic)
LOSS (stands for Lives of State Shame) was a grassroots activist organisation established in Melbourne. LOSS had its origins, according to its First Annual General Report, in a public meeting held at Parliament House on 25 July 1997, attended by more than 100 former State Wards and allies, calling for attention to "the failure of the state to exercise due responsibility over the years for the many thousands of children under their care who were fostered out or institutionalised.” Over the next decade it played a crucial role in supporting former State Wards and raising the profile of justice for State Wards. It changed its name to ForWards in the early 2000s.
AAPA (NSW)
The Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association (AAPA) is recognised as Australia’s first formal politically organised united Aboriginal activist group, although it built on earlier Aboriginal activism and protest movements. It had 13 branches and more than 600 members across New South Wales. It campaigned for land rights, citizenship, self-determination, and an end to the practice of removing Aboriginal children from their families.
SNAICC
In 1981, the first ever SNAICC Conference was held, at which a "Statement of Purpose" was formulated. Since then, through the provision of advice and activism, SNAICC has helped guide the development of policies and programs by government and non-government sector, for the achievement of better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
Link-Up NSW
Link-Up NSW was the first of many Link-Up services established by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who had been directly affected by past policies and practices of child removal. They focus particularly on family tracing and helping families to reunite. Link-Up organisations and programs have subsequently been established in each State and Territory around Australia, except the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. Coral Edwards and Peter Read were instrumental in Link-Up’s establishment.
Reference: Peter Read, 2020, “‘Like being born all over again’: the establishment of Link Up”, in A Rape of the Soul so Profound: The Return of the Stolen Generation, Routledge: Abingdon, Oxon.
Neerkol Action Support Group (Qld)
The Neerkol Action Support Group began meeting in mid-1997. Survivors of the St Joseph’s Home, Neerkol (near Rockhampton), approached the Sisters of Mercy seeking an apology and access to counselling and other support services for the abuse and neglect they experienced as children in the institution. The group, though small, was instrumental in instigating the broader political movement towards the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions (1999), commonly known as the Forde Inquiry. The group’s approaches were also influential in subsequent models of recognition and redress used across Australia.
Primary documents relating to the Neerkol Action Support Group are held at the CLAN Orphanage Museum.
CLAN
The Care Leavers' Australasia Network (CLAN) was founded in July 2000, to be a membership organisation for people who grew up in out-of-home care. It has led many campaigns and protests aimed at achieving justice for its members, and holds an enormous repository of documents relating to out-of-home care at its museum based in Geelong, Victoria.
Tuart Place (WA)
Tuart Place traces its history to 2007 with the establishment of Forgotten Australians Coming Together (FACT) in Perth. Led by a group of Care Leavers, FACT was intended to provide a ‘drop-in centre’ for people who had experienced out-of-home care as children. In 2012 FACT became the governing body for the newly formed Tuart Place, based on services designed by Care Leavers and specialists. Former Bindoon Orphanage resident Laurie Humphreys was instrumental in its establishment.