Find and Connect Services and projects
Following the November 2009 National Apology to Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants, the Australian Government announced initial funding of $26.5 million over four years for Find and Connect services. Funding for the Find and Connect Support Services was renewed to extend services for five years to from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2026.
The Find and Connect Support Services provide specialist trauma informed counselling, referral services, peer support, education and social support programs. Services also provide assistance to locate and access records and reconnect with family members (where possible) for Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants.
The Australian Government worked collaboratively with Find and Connect Support Services and organisations representing Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants and Care Leavers, state and territory governments, records specialists and non-government records holders to provide the service delivery model for Find and Connect.
This collaboration has achieved:
- delivery of a National Find and Connect web resource to help Care Leavers find records held by past providers and government agencies. Records collections and organisations listed on the Find and Connect web resource are continually updated
- delivery of a national network of Find and Connect Support Services including:
- a national 1800 telephone number – 1800 16 11 09 for Care Leavers to call to make the initial ‘first steps’ to ask for support
- specialised trauma informed counselling services for Care Leavers, from appropriately trained and skilled professionals
- specialised records search and support services to provide practical assistance to Care Leavers.
- research into Freedom of Information, Privacy and Right to Information legislation and records practices
- Find and Connect indexing grants to assist past and current non-government providers index records to increase accessibility for Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants to their records
- an aged care information package for Care Leavers was developed by the Department of Health and was released on 15 December 2016. The Caring for Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants and Stolen Generations Information Package shows how early life experiences can affect older people receiving care and help care providers respond to their needs
- ensuring this dark chapter in Australia’s history is never forgotten through the:
- National Museum of Australia travelling exhibition - Inside: Life in Children’s Homes and Institutions and education package for senior secondary students (Years 10 to 12)
- National Library of Australia’s Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants Oral History Project including recordings of over 200 people from all over Australia talking about their experiences in institutional care and an oral history booklet titled, You can’t forget things like that.
- strengthened sector representation and support through funding for The Alliance for Forgotten Australians Incorporated (AFA), the Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN), the International Association of Former Child Migrants and their Families (the International Association) and Child Migrants Trust (CMT)
- a set of national records access Principles and Guidelines for Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants, June 2015.
More Information
- Find and Connect Support Services and representative organisations
- Evaluation of Find and Connect Services
- The independent scoping study to recommend a model for the delivery of the Find and Connect Service
Related information
- Care Leavers
- 15 December 2016 - Caring for Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants and Stolen Generations Information Package
- 16 November 2009 - National Apology to Forgotten Australians and former child migrants
- 11 June 2011 – Media release - Reconnecting Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants with their families
- Visual History Project - Inside: Life in children’s Homes and Institutions – National Museum of Australia
- Oral History Project - National Library of Australia
- Find and Connect web resource
- Senate Committee report - Lost Innocents & Forgotten Australians Revisited
Last updated: