Welcome to the Alliance for Forgotten Australians

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Welcome to this website produced by the Alliance for Forgotten Australians (AFA), an alliance of existing groups and individuals supporting people who were raised in institutional or other out-of-home care in Australia in the 20th century. AFA's aim is to promote the interests of Forgotten Australians through cooperative advocacy and projects. To learn more about AFA's aims, priorities and activities please visit the following link.
Click this link to visit the page About AFA and learn more about AFA's members.

Farewell Laurie Humphreys JP

Laurie Humphreys, a tireless worker for Forgotten Australians and a founding member of AFA, has died at home in Fremantle after a long battle with cancer. Our sincere condolences to his partner, Frankie, to his family and to all who loved him.

Laurie came to Australia as a child migrant and was sent to Bindoon in WA, where he experienced harsh conditions and sometimes harsh treatment; he was one of the boys who built Bindoon, and he was very proud of that. In later life, Laurie was a hard worker who stood up for people, and his career as a union official is testament to his commitment to social justice.  Laurie has been a staunch and effective advocate for Forgotten Australians, both in WA and nationally. The Tuart Place service for Forgotten Australians in Fremantle, WA, was his initiative. We remember Laurie as a gentle but determined man, always ready with a smile but equally ready to propose something new and to carry it through. He loved cruise ships—saying that the best thing about being a child migrant was the great time they had coming over! He and his partner, Frankie,  sailed for pleasure as well as to visit new-found family in England and Norway. He loved fish and chips, his garden and a good sunrise. He was a voracious reader and wrote about his own life in A Chip off What Block? A child migrant's tale. He wanted Forgotten Australians and Child Migrants to unite and recognise their common experiences and interests and to show the strength that comes from numbers. He wanted Forgotten Australians to manage their own affairs, as far as possible, but he was always ready to acknowledge those who'd helped along the way. We can ill afford to lose him. He lasted two years after the verdict of ‘six months’, as we would have expected, but the pain was hard for him towards the end.

Let Laurie’s legacy be our renewed courage, spirit and determination to make the world a better place.

News Panel keeping you up to date

The scrolling news panel on the left is regularly updated with the latest news concerning Forgotten Australians. If you see something that interests you, place your mouse over the panel to stop the text from scrolling. If you still want to read more about that item, click the link within the panel.

Want to view the news without the using the scrolling panel? AFA's Official Blog contains the current news selection as well as listing many previous highlights and resources (without the scroll panel).

As this news is gathered automatically based on selected keywords, some items may not be directly relevant to Forgotten Australians.
Click this link to visit our Official Blog Information.

Booklet

In 2008, AFA produced a booklet which has released over 90,000 copies. It is informative and useful for Forgotten Australians and those who work, interact with or relate to them.

View by clicking the following link to download the booklet in PDF format - Forgotten Australians Booklet.pdf (238KB).

You can also receive a free copy of this booklet by post or order a box for distribution. To place your order, click this link to find out how to Contact Us with your request.

Click to visit the page About AFA and learn more about the Steering Committee and the Advisory Group of Members.

Established in 2006, the Alliance for Forgotten Australians (AFA) is a national group of organisations and selected individuals from across Australia that promotes the interests of the estimated 500,000 people who experienced institutional or other out-of-home care as children in the last century and who suffered physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse: the Forgotten Australians.

AFA receives funding from the Australian Government (through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) and auspicing and project support from Families Australia Inc.

AFA works to advance its objectives at all levels of government in Australia. It works with the knowledge and cooperation of its members to advance issues at the Federal, State and Territory levels and with Past Providers.

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