Introduction to Forgotten Australians and Care leavers

Forgotten Australians and care leavers are people who were in “care” as children – orphanages, missions, dormitories, group homes, foster care. Many people had terrible experiences in care including abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and were subject to exploitation, violence and separation from their families and communities.

For many Forgotten Australians and care leavers, ageing is a terrifying prospect as they face having to go back into an institution.

Who are Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers

A group known as Forgotten Australians has been identified as having many challenges as they face the possibility of aged care. Forgotten Australians represent the 500,000 children that were placed into institutional and out-of-home care in Australia in the last century.

Of this group, 7,000 were former child migrants, 50,000 were indigenous children from the Stolen Generations and over 440,000 were non-indigenous children.

Many of these children experienced significant physical and emotional trauma as a result of being placed in institutional care as children and now, as an older group, are experiencing barriers to accessing aged care as a result.

We respect that not everyone will identify with the terminology ‘Forgotten Australians’. Some people prefer the term ‘Care Leaver’ or another term.

Why do Forgotten Australians & Care Leavers need trauma-informed aged care?

They were often lonely and exploited, subjected to punishment, rigid rules, humiliation, and suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Many were denied an adequate education and were forced to work virtually as slaves for those entrusted with their care. Nutrition and health care were also poor, and many were subject to forced medical interventions.

This lack of identity, safety and care as children has often produced lifelong negative consequences for their wellbeing as adults. Trust in authority and institutions has been impacted and many have

ongoing mental and physical health issues. Family and social relationships and skills were consistently impaired, and incarceration and substance abuse has resulted for many. Challenges with employment, housing and income security have been commonplace in their adult lives.

As they age, in many cases prematurely, the prospect of needing care may provoke a range of feelings including being truly frightened. They are aware that their past experiences may impact on their behaviour, needs and choices as they age.

What is trauma-aware and healing informed care?

When carers understand trauma they can recognise signs, know the impact of behaviours, and reduce the risk of re-traumatisation. Understanding the impact of trauma is beneficial to us all.

For those community, health and related services who may be working with Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers, knowing more about them and their needs can help to provide better and more effective services to individuals, as well as to the community as a whole.

Learn about the standards

Who might benefit from the program?

Residents

All residents can benefit from trauma informed care principles. It really is just great, person-centred care that sets people up to have a great day, everyday.

For Forgotten Australians and care leavers, the more we understand about their experiences in care, the more we help them to feel safe and settled in residential aged care. We can help to calm their anxieties, make them feel safe, and avoid triggers which can cause escalated behaviours.

We can send a very clear message that they are no longer forgotten.

Staff

We get many reports from staff that they learn so much from the training and that it helps them think about what might be going on for the people they are working with. For example, they can help make someone’s day better, they can help to avoid triggers and behaviours that might result from that. People report that they get overall increased satisfaction from being able to apply trauma informed care principles.

It isn’t just care staff who can make for a trauma aware and healing informed environment. Sometimes our hospitality staff or maintenance teams might be the ones who are having regular chats with our residents.

Community

In aged care we have many partners – families and supporters of our residents and clients, health and allied health professionals, other community services and the local communities we operate in. We can play a part in educating others about care leavers and Forgotten Australians, as well as the principles of trauma aware and healing informed care. This means people can get better care when they are in the community as well as after coming into care.

“It was a learning experience for myself, being from a different cultural background and not knowing the resident. I got to know the resident really well and then educated and supported others to be able to able to provide the care that the resident deserved.

I feel honoured to be part of her life, even if it was for a very short time, but feel gratified knowing that we made some difference in her life.”

Upasana Singh

Helping Hand, Golden Grove