Our Records, Find & Connect team may be able to support Forgotten Australians to meet relatives from your birth family who you have never met or have not seen since childhood.

If you are planning to contact family members, you may find it helpful to talk to a Records, Find & Connect worker about the following questions:

• Who are you going to meet?
• What are your expectations for the reunion?
• Do you need support at or after the reunion?
• Have you thought about how your family member/s will react to the reunion?

Financial help with reunion activities

Some financial assistance may be available to help Forgotten Australians meet costs related to attending a reunion.

This may include helping with your train, bus or plane costs for travelling to the reunion. You can also apply for financial help to pay for up to 2 nights of accommodation.

Please be aware:

• You must apply for assistance at least 4 weeks before the date you plan to travel.
• You must wait for your request to be approved by Open Place, in writing, before you pay for your travel.
• This assistance is only for Forgotten Australians who were in ‘care’ in Victoria.
• Assistance is only available to meet the travel costs of the Forgotten Australian, and is not available to family members*.
• Assistance is only available for travel within Australia.

*In exceptional circumstances, such as where the Forgotten Australian is unable to travel at all (e.g. serious illness), or where the Forgotten Australian is unable to travel alone, Open Place may consider providing funding for a family member to travel to visit the Forgotten Australian, or to enable a carer to travel with the applicant. A doctor’s certificate will be required in these cases.