How to share the message

Who are Forgotten Australians?

Suggested messaging:

Some stories in Australian history shouldn’t be forgotten but often are.

That includes the lives of more than 500,000 people who experienced institutional or out-of-home care in Australia during the 20th century.

This video explains who Forgotten Australians are and where the name came from. It features people with lived experience.

#forgottenaustralians #careleavers #personcentredcare

National Apology

Suggested messaging:

On November 16, 2009, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a formal apology to Forgotten

Australians (also known as Care Leavers), acknowledging the injustices they faced as children while in institutional care. This group (of more than 500,000 people) includes members of the Stolen Generations and child migrants.

This video features people with lived experience reading from the apology and explaining what it meant to them.

#nationalapology #forgottenaustralians #careleavers

Lifetime Impact

Suggested messaging:

Warning: this video includes discussion of abuse, neglect and trauma.

More than 500,000 children were placed into institutional and out-of-home care in Australia in the last century. Many of these children experienced significant physical and emotional trauma as a result of their ‘care’, and the impact has been long-lasting.

This video features people with lived experience explaining how those experiences continue to shape their lives.

#childhoodtrauma #forgottenaustralians #careleavers

Known by Numbers

Suggested messaging:

Imagine not being referred to by your name? This was the reality for a significant number of children placed in institutional and out-of-home care in Australia during the last century.

Assigned a number, Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers were often referred to by that instead, as you will see in this video, which features Jeannie, who has lived experience.

To provide people with dignity and ongoing care as they age, we must understand their history.

#dignity #careleavers #forgottenaustralians

Joy

Suggested messaging:

For many of the 500,000+ children who were placed into institutional and out-of-home care in Australia in the last century, the impact has been enduring.

This doesn’t preclude them from seeking and experiencing joy. As you will see in this video, various things bring them joy.

As carers and members of the community, we can and should ask questions of Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers to help facilitate the moments that brighten their lives.

#joy #careleavers #forgottenaustralians

Institutional Treatment

Suggested messaging:

All children deserve to be cared for. Sadly, during the last century, many of those growing up in institutional and out-of-home care were treated very poorly.

Known today as Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers, their voices deserve to be heard and their history understood.

In this video, you will hear stories about institutional treatment from those with lived experience.

#institutionaltrauma #forgottenaustralians #careleavers

Good Aged Care

Suggested messaging:

Does your aged care service address the needs of Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers? These terms refer to the 500,000 children who were placed into institutional and out-of-home care in Australia in the last century.

As you will hear in this video, which includes interviews from people with lived experience, catering for them will benefit everybody.

#personcentredcare #qualityagedcare #forgottenaustralians

Children charged Jeannie

Suggested messaging:

How can a child be charged with their own neglect? It happened.

Late last century, many children who were placed into institutional and out-of-home care were deemed responsible for their situation. Hear Jeannie, a Forgotten Australian, explain.

Understanding this history is essential for the dignity and ongoing care of people like Jeannie.

#neglect #trauma #forgottenaustralians

Child migrants

Suggested messaging:

When child migrants were shipped over to Australia late last century, many were told that their parents were dead. Parents were told that their children had died.

As discussed in this video, culture was often lost, and child labour was commonplace.

It’s a dark part of Australian history that needs to be acknowledged.

#childmigrants #childlabour #forgottenaustralians

Awful Things

Suggested messaging:

Warning: this video includes discussion of abuse, neglect and trauma.

Awful things are hard to talk about. That doesn’t mean they didn’t happen or that their impact should be ignored. Awareness of the trauma experienced by many of the children placed in institutional and out-of-home care in Australia during the last century is crucial. Understanding impacts their dignity and their care.

#trauma #abuse #neglect #forgottenaustralians

Aged Care Needs Chris

Suggested messaging:

For Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers who experienced trauma as children when placed in institutional and out-of-home care, returning to care as an older person means revisiting that trauma.

As Chris, a Forgotten Australian, explains in this video, when we know someone’s story, we are better placed to support them appropriately and sensitively.

#agedcare #trauma #forgottenaustralians

Aged Care Needs

Suggested messaging:

Just because you have experienced something similar doesn’t make you the same. Humans are unique. We all have different needs and rely on a variety of approaches to feel understood.

This video of Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers discussing what works for them highlights this fact. As carers and community members, we must allow for individuality.

#agedcareneeds #forgottenaustralians #careleavers