Forgotten Australians
Who are the Forgotten Australians?
Forgotten Australians are people whose lives have been affected by institutional and out-of-home care as children, now faced with re-institutionalisation as they age. This page is designed to support practitioners in the Health Sciences field and focuses on Forgotten Australians, their aged care needs, and trauma-informed care.
- Who are the Forgotten Australians?This video from Families Australia provides background about Forgotten Australians, children who were in institutional 'care' in the 20th century.
- Forgotten Australians: Supporting survivors of childhood institutional care in AustraliaThis booklet is designed to give health professionals the background information they need to recognise, relate to and assist people who are experiencing long-term trauma because of a childhood spent in orphanages or Homes.
- Forgotten Australians: Life Stories - six different stories which can be viewed individuallyStories of Forgotten Australians who share their experience of a childhood in Children’s Homes, institutions or foster care in Australia.
- Alliance for Forgotten AustraliansThe Alliance for Forgotten Australians is committed to recognition and healing for Forgotten Australians and encourages their active engagement in the development of policy and services.
- CLAN (Care Leavers Australasia Network)CLAN offers support to Care Leavers and members of their family who have grown up in Orphanages, Children’s Homes, Missions, Foster Care and other Child Welfare institutions in Australia and New Zealand.
Forgotten Australians and Aged Care
- Exploring Better Aged Care Solutions for our Forgotten AustraliansThis video shines light on the often overlooked experiences and needs of Forgotten Australians in relation to aged care. Many Forgotten Australians experienced suffering in care, and are now faced with concerns regarding re-institutionalization as they age.
- Real Care the Second Time AroundA publication from Helping Hand to assist aged care providers and staff with practical tips, information and resources when working with people who identify as Forgotten Australians or Care Leavers.
- Forgotten Australians: Real Care the Second Time AroundPosition Statement on Forgotten Australians from Helping Hand: new aged care.
Survivors not victims
Someone finally asked me 'What happened to you?' instead of 'What's wrong with you?'
-- A trauma survivor
Reframing victims as survivors is fundamental to the process of re-empowering individuals that have experienced trauma.
Aged Care and Trauma-informed Care
Trauma-informed care recognises the history of trauma and trauma responses in people's lives. It prioritises the physical, psychological and emotional safety of consumers and service providers while providing the opportunity for consumers to build control of their lives.
- Aged Care | What is Trauma-Informed Care?Watch this short video to learn key aspects of Trauma-Informed Care which can help improve day-to-day interactions with residents and their loved ones, support staff wellbeing, and create an environment that feels safe for everyone.
- Aged Care | Looking after someone who has experienced traumaSupport from family, loved ones and carers plays an important part in improving the quality of life of an older person who has experienced trauma. Learn what you can do to support the person you are caring for, while also looking after your own wellbeing.
- WEBINAR | Trauma Informed Practice in Aged CareA panel of trauma experts and advocates for older Australians introduce the principles of trauma-informed practice in an aged care context and discuss practical strategies that individuals and organisations can consider when introducing this approach.
Orphanages & Children’s Homes in South Australia
Allambie Girls' Hostel, Norwood
Barton Vale Girls Home, Enfield
Bedford Park Boys Training Centre, Bedford Park
Magill Boys Reformatory, Magill
Campbell House Farm School, Meningie
Cann Home, Magill
Clark Cottage, Clarence Park
Destitute Asylum, Adelaide
Fullarton Girls' Home, Fullarton
Caring for Forgotten Australians
This video is adapted from the Department of Health's Caring for Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants and Stolen Generations Information Package (2016). The video includes 7 quizzes as you move through the slides.
Training Modules — Helping Hand
Online Learning -- Working with aged care clients who experienced childhood trauma in 'care'
The course developed by Helping Hand is an introduction to understanding the impacts of childhood trauma for people now entering aged care. It focuses on the experiences of Forgotten Australians, Stolen Generations, Former Child Migrants and people affected by forced adoption.
Library resources
Search via the Library Collection. Below is a small selection of books and book chapters to get you started.
- Institutional abuse of children – an Australian perspectiveBook chapter by Quadrio, C, in Humanising Mental Health Care in Australia, 2019, 1st edn, Routledge, pp. 112–121
- Recovering From Childhood TraumaBook chapter by Dacre, V, in Promoting Resilience, 2020, 1st edn, Routledge, pp. 127–133
- The scars remain : a long history of forgotten Australians and children's institutionsNell Musgrove, 2013, Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty, Limited, North Melbourne, Victoria.
Search via the Library Collection. Below is a small selection of journal articles to get you started.
- The case for trauma‐informed aged careCations, M, Laver, KE, Walker, R, Smyth, A, Fernandez, E, Corlis, M,
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2020, vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 425-429 - ‘I’d rather die in the middle of a street’: Perceptions and expectations of aged care among Forgotten AustraliansBrowne‐Yung, K, O’Neil, D, Walker, R, Smyth, A, Putsey, P, Corlis, M, Laver, KE, Fernandez, E, Cations, M, Australasian Journal on Ageing, 2021, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 168–176
- Q and ACarroll, T, Australian Ageing Agenda, no. Mar/Apr 2018, p. 52
- Health Collection (via Informit)Covers health-related material from and about Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific and South East Asia. Focuses on nursing and allied health, with key subjects including public health, patient care, aged care, Aboriginal Australians, child welfare and family violence.
- MEDLINE (via Ovid)A large biomedical database produced by the US National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE is key for health-related topics. Indexed with the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and with records from 1946 to current, primarily for scholarly journal articles. MEDLINE via Ovid is recommended for systematic searches rather than via the free PubMed.
- Nursing and Allied Health Database (via ProQuest)This database offers reliable, comprehensive coverage of the fields of nursing and allied health including journals, video, dissertations, reference books and more.
- Ovid Nursing Database (via Ovid)Ovid Nursing database includes full-text content from current journals through Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, combined with a Nursing subset of MEDLINE.
- PubMedThe freely-available version of MEDLINE, the US National Library of Medicine's database covering biomedical and life sciences literature. Also includes records for fulltext material archived by the NLM in PubMed Central and the Bookshelf. UniSA’s Ovid (MEDLINE) subscription includes all parts of PubMed and is updated daily.
Government resources — Forgotten Australians
- Caring for Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants and Stolen GenerationsInformation Package for aged care services from the Department of Health and Aged Care.
Standards, policies, and legislation
- Aged Care Quality StandardsAustralian Government Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Quality Standards
- The National Safety and Quality Health Service StandardsThe National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards provide a nationally consistent statement of the level of care consumers can expect from health service organisations.
Do you need support?
If you require support after accessing the above resources, please contact one of the following:
