Lives of Uncommon Children
A collection of stories written by survivors of residential institutions in Queensland, Lives of Uncommon Children: Reflections of Forgotten Australians was published by Micah Projects, on behalf of Lotus Place, to mark the tenth anniversary of Queensland’s Forde Inquiry.
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.
SNYPIC
The New South Wales (NSW) State Network of Young People in Care, known as SNYPIC, was auspiced by the Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies (ACWA) and funded modestly by government, following a recommendation of the 1992 "Review of Substitute Care Services in NSW" (Usher Report). It was the first of several state and territory-based networks that would soon form into the Australian Association of Children and Young People in Care (AAYPIC), and eventually in 1999 into the CREATE Foundation.
CREATE Foundation
The CREATE Foundation was established in March 1999 following a meeting in Brisbane of the Australian Association of Young People in Care (AAYPIC). It is a leading participatory organisation for young people in out-of-home care, providing platforms and opportunities for advocacy and activism.
AAYPIC
The Australian Association of Children and Young People in Care (AAYPIC) was established to give people a say in the out-of-home care systems that they were part of. It was initially made up of a number of different state and territory groups from around Australia, and in March 1999 these AAYPIC networks formed a single organisation called CREATE.
Voice of a Survivor
The Voice of a Survivor is a private company that helps victims of institutional abuse to find justice. It does this primarily through legal support, but also through social and political activism. It was founded in 2017 by Russell Manser, a survivor of institutional abuse. The Voice of a Survivor was featured in a report on the 7.30 program on ABC TV in February 2023.
NT Youth Detention Royal Commission
The Royal Commission and Board of Inquiry in the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory (NT), triggered by revelations of intense mistreatment at the Don Dale Youth Justice facility in Darwin, examined conditions for incarcerated children in the NT. It found that that youth detention centres in the NT were not fit for accommodating children. Chapter 35 covers what it describes as “the crossover of care and detention”, and included a range of recommendations aimed at addressing the connection between out-of-home care and the criminal justice system.
Victorian Redress Campaign
Through the latter half of 2022 a social media, media and in-person campaign led by CLAN (Care Leavers Australasia Network) resulted in the Victorian Government announcing a new redress scheme for people who grew up in out-of-home care with the precise scope and terms of the scheme to be co-designed with survivors. It came after similar Victorian schemes were introduced in relations to the Stolen Generations and Forced Adoptions.