Inquiries
The Australian Government, as well as all states and territories, conducted inquiries into the experiences of children in institutional or out-of-home care. The first was held in 1997, the most recent in 2024.
Australian Government
Senate Community Affairs References Committee, Forgotten Australians, A report on Australians who experienced institutional or out-of-home care as children, August 2004.
Senate Community Affairs References Committee, Protecting vulnerable children: A national challenge, Second report on the inquiry into children in institutional care or out-of-home care, March 2005.
Senate Community Affairs References Committee, Lost Innocents and Forgotten Australians Revisited, Report on the progress with the implementation of the recommendations of the Lost Innocents and Forgotten Australians Reports, June 2009.
Senate Community Affairs References Committee, Lost Innocents: Righting the Record, Report on Child Migration, August 2001.
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), Bringing them home, Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children From Their Families, April 1997.
Australian Capital Territory
In May 2019 the ACT Legislative Assembly tasked the Standing Committee on Health, Ageing and Community Services to inquire into Child and Youth Protection Services.
New South Wales
The final report of the ‘Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW’ was published on 24 November 2008.
Northern Territory
The ‘Board of Inquiry into the Child Protection System in the Northern Territory’ was published on 18 October 2010.
Queensland
The Queensland Government was the first in Australia to formally recognise the experiences of Forgotten Australians after the 1998-99 Commission of Inquiry into abuse of children in Queensland institutions, better known as the Forde Inquiry. The Forde Inquiry found many children had suffered abuse or neglect in institutional care and these people continue to be affected by these experiences into their adult life.
The final report of the ‘Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions’, was presented to the Queensland Government on 31 May 1999.
South Australia
The ‘Children in State Care Commission of Inquiry’ produced its final report in March 2008.
The Government of South Australia tabled its response and issued a formal apology on 17 June 2008.
Tasmania
The final report of the ‘Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings’ was submitted to the Governor of Tasmania on 31 August 2023.
Victoria
‘Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations’ was tabled in the Parliament of Victoria on 13 November 2013.
Western Australia
‘An inquiry into the options available to survivors of institutional child sexual abuse in Western Australia who are seeking justice’ was tabled in the WA Legislative Assembly on 15 August 2024.
