Forgotten Australians

Forgotten Australians are the estimated 500,000 children and child migrants who experienced care in institutions or outside a home setting in Australia during the 20th century. The Australian Senate used the term specifically when reporting on its 2003–2004 "Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care".

Children ended up in out-of-home care for a variety of reasons, mainly relating to poverty and family breakdown at a time when there was little support for families in crisis.

Residential institutions run by government and non-government organisations were the standard form of out-of-home care during the first half of the 20th century. Children in institutions were sometimes placed in foster homes for short periods, weekends or during holiday periods. There was a move towards smaller group care from the 1950s and a move away from institutional care to kinship and foster care from the 1970s.

Many of these children suffered from neglect and were abused physically, emotionally or sexually while in care. Survivors to this day still suffer the effects of the child abuse. The trauma experienced in care has affected care leavers negatively throughout their adult lives. Their partners and children have also felt the impact, which can then flow through to future generations.

In 2009 an official Australian government apology was made to people who had grown up in the institutional system, including former child migrants to Australia. The apology was made by then Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Some Australian state governments have funded redress schemes for adults who were abused in care.

The people who identify as forgotten Australians are the survivors of government policies that resulted in at least 500,000 children growing up in 'out-of-home' care in Australia in the 20th Century. Forgotten Australians are also known as 'care leavers'. Other terms for people who spent time in out-of-home care include 'homies', 'state wards' or 'wardies'.

The majority of children in care were not orphans. Many had either one or both parents still living, or other living relatives. Children spent varying amounts of time in institutions and foster care and the majority entered care at a young age. Many spent their entire childhood and youth in an orphanage or children's home.

The Australian Senate used the figure of half-a-million when reporting on its 2003–04 'Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care'. The Senate's 2004 report on the inquiry began by saying that 'Upwards of, and possibly more than 500,000 Australians experienced care ... during the last century'. The 500,000 includes 450,000-plus Australian-born, non-indigenous children, 30,000–50,000 Indigenous children from the Stolen Generations, and 7,000 Former Child Migrants from Britain, Ireland and Malta.

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