Useful links

Public health and community services

Australian Government Department of Health - Dental: Information about the government’s dental initiatives.
Victorian Government Department of Health: Public health information and services for Victorians.
Office of Housing Victoria: Information about housing and housing assistance from the Victorian Government Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

Records and history

Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria: Keeps records of significant life events for Victorians since 1853 including birth certificates, proof of identity, and research and family history.
Heritage Victoria: Information and resources about historic heritage sites in Victoria.
National Library of Australia: Online and print resources including articles, journals, ebooks, databases and historical cultural information.
Public Record Office Victoria: Find records created by the Victorian Government from the mid-1830s to now.
State Library of Victoria: The library’s collection includes articles, books, photographs, maps, manuscripts and much more.

Services supporting Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants

Australia-wide

Find & Connect Support Services: Helps Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants to access support and counselling, obtain records and reconnect with family, where possible.
Freecall 1800 16 11 09 Monday-Friday 9am-5pm
Alliance for Forgotten Australians: Advocates for national policies and high-quality services which are tailored to meet the needs and interests of Forgotten Australians.
CLAN (Care Leavers Australasia Network): Supports Care Leavers with a range of services, assistance and advocacy
Child Migrants Trust: Provides a range of social work services for former Child Migrants and their families, including counselling, support for family reunions, information, advice and family research. Freecall 1800 04 05 09

In Victoria

Adoption Information Services (formerly FIND): Information on adoption and applying for adoption records. Freecall 1300 194 757
VANISH: Supports Forgotten Australians and people affected by adoption or donor conception.

In other states

Lotus Place (Queensland): Provides support for Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants, Find & Connect services, Redress support, and advocacy and community education. Phone 1800 16 11 09 or 07 3347 8500.
Wattle Place (New South Wales): Forgotten Australian Support Service, Find & Connect, National Redress Scheme support, and Forced Adoption Support Services. Phone 1800 663 844.
Elm Place (South Australia): Provides support services to people whose lives have been affected by institutional and out-of-home care as children specifically, Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants, the Stolen Generations and people affected by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Phone 1800 16 11 09 or 08 8419 2042.
Tuart Place (Western Australia): Tuart Place provides a range of services including counselling and support groups; help with the National Redress Scheme and other abuse claims; phone outreach; a drop-in centre; supported access to records and family tracing; computer and IT assistance; and social activities. Freecall 1800 619795 or 08 6140 2380.
Lanterns House (Western Australia): Lanterns House is specifically equipped to provide support and assistance to people who want to obtain records of their time in ‘care’, access individual counselling and group support, participate in social activities, connect with other services and support organisations that may be able to help or simply drop in for a cuppa and chat. Freecall 1800 161 109.
Relationship Australia NT (Northern Territory): The support service will help you to access personalised support and counselling where possible, obtain your personal records, trace your history and understand why you were placed into care, connect with other services and support networks that may assist you at this time in your life and reconnect with family, where possible. Freecall 1800 161 109.
Find and Connect Service ACT (Australian Capital Territory): The support service will help you to access personalised support and counselling where possible, obtain your personal records, trace your history and understand why you were placed into care, connect with other services and support networks that may assist you at this time in your life and reconnect with family, where possible. Freecall 1800 161 109 or 02 6122 7100.
Find and Connect Service Tasmania: The Find & Connect Support Service in Tasmania helps Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants to trace their history and understand the reason they were placed into care, reconnect with family where possible and to access counselling and other supports. Freecall 1800 161 109 or 1300 364 277.

Services supporting Stolen Generations survivors

Link-Up Victoria: Provides a support service to help the Stolen Generations and family members to find one another. Freecall 1800 OUR MOB (1800 687 662)
Connecting Home (Victoria): Provides a range of services to survivors of the Stolen Generations across South-East Australia, as well as information and education to the wider community.
Koorie Heritage Trust - Family History Service: Provides confidential client-based genealogy research to help members of the Stolen Generations, Koories in custody and members of the Koorie Community to trace their family history and access records.
The Healing Foundation: Provides a platform to amplify the voices and lived experience of Stolen Generations survivors and their families, and promotes trauma-aware, healing-informed practice to help government, policymakers, and workforces understand their role in intergenerational healing.

Additional services for survivors of child sexual abuse

Blue Knot Foundation: Provides support for anyone affected by violence, abuse or neglect as a child, young person or adult. Phone 1300 657 380 Monday-Sunday, 9am-5pm AEST
Broken Rites: Since 1993, Broken Rites Australia has been researching the cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Historical Abuse Network (Queensland): A network of people who have experienced abuse in Queensland institutions, foster care and detention centres.
Wings for Survivors: A peer support group for survivors of childhood abuse including Forgotten Australians.

Victorian past providers

Information for recent Care Leavers

CREATE Foundation: Represents the voices of children and young people with an out-of-home care experience.
Support services for young people leaving care (Victoria): The Victorian Government Department of Families, Fairness and Housing provides services to help young people who are leaving Victorian care services to adapt to living independently.
Children in care (Victoria): Information from the Victorian Government Department of Families, Fairness and Housing about permanent care, foster care and kinship care.
The Commission for Children and Young People (formerly The Office of the Victorian Child Safety Commissioner): Promotes improvement in policies and practices that affect the safety and wellbeing of Victorian children and young people.