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This information is for people who are searching for records about their parent or grandparent. It may be helpful for anyone doing family history research about people who spent time in orphanages, children’s homes or other institutions.
The Find & Connect support services are for people who were in children’s Homes, orphanages and foster care in Australia, from the 1920s up to 1989. For many people, the journey of accessing records will be about more than the person who grew up in ‘care’ – the records about the person’s parents, siblings and other family members can also contain vital information. Many people who have a close relative who was in a children’s institution want to access these records, to understand more about their family and their past.
The Find & Connect support services are under considerable demand – people wanting to access records about a family member may not be eligible for help with searching. Calling the Find & Connect support service to discuss your situation is a good first step – 1800 16 11 09.
This page contains information that can help you to locate and access these records yourself.
If you know the name of the Home, then you can go straight to the relevant Find & Connect page for more information. The entries on Find & Connect can help you find out more about the history of the Home, and where any records are located. Look for Homes on Find & Connect.
But if you’re not sure about the name of the Home, identifying which institution your parent or grandparent was in can take a bit of detective work. Many people start with only small pieces of information, a bit like a jigsaw puzzle.
When you’re starting out, it’s good to know a little bit about how the child welfare system worked in the relevant state or territory. For example, in some states where the state government department organised most care placements it makes sense to look at government records first. In other states, where many placements were likely to be arranged more informally by churches or charities (known as “voluntary” or “private placements”), the records you need might not be in government archives.
A good way to start is by writing down everything you already know. Can you answer any of the following questions?
You might be able to ask your parent or grandparent these questions. If not, it might be helpful to ask other family members what they know or remember.
Once you have done your preparation, go to Search this Site and search for the home/s your parent or grandparent was in.
If you know the name of the home, type it in the Quick Search field.
Or, you can make a shortlist of homes. Start with typing something general in the Quick Search field (eg “Parramatta”, “Catholic”, “orphanage”), and then use the options on the left-hand side to narrow down your search results (eg to only look at homes in a particular state, or homes that operated at a particular time). For more information see How to use this Site.
You can also browse alphabetical lists of Homes in each state or territory.
You may need to make a shortlist of the homes that fit the information you have.
If your parent or grandparent was made a ward of the state, there may be government-held records about them. If you are fairly confident your parent or grandparent was a state ward, it may be best to start your search by applying for access to what’s known as their ward file, which might also be called a children’s file or a client file.
If you are not sure, it might help to read a bit more about the Homes they lived in. For example, if you find they were placed in a government-run institution, or if they passed through a government reception centre then it’s likely your parent or grandparent was a ward of the state. In each state or territory, there is a government department whose job it is to respond to requests for access to the records of state wards.
It’s important to know that there might be records about a person’s time in care in multiple locations, and held by multiple organisations. If your relative was a ward of the state, there will likely be government records, but if they were placed in non-government Homes, these organisations might have kept records as well. You will need to make separate applications for records held by different organisations.
If your parent or grandparent was in foster care, your search will be a bit different. You are not going to find the name and address of their foster home on Find & Connect. However, it’s likely that your relative spent at least some time in a children’s home or institution, while awaiting placement, or between placements. If your parent or grandparent was a ward of state, there might be government records about their time in care, including details of foster care placements.
If you know that your parent or grandparent came to Australia as a child migrant, that will help you narrow down your search of homes. The Former Child Migrants fact sheet has more information about how to find records.
Once you have found the Find & Connect webpage for the Home, click the “Records” tab where you can find out who to contact to apply for access, and read a description of the organisation’s collection. Please be aware Find & Connect does not hold anyone’s records or private information – to access your family member’s records, you will need to contact the record-holders directly.
It’s also important to remember that Find & Connect lists information provided by record-holding organisations – these descriptions are not exhaustive and you may find the organisation has more records than listed on Find & Connect. Equally, you may find that the organisation has very minimal records, or that it has stored its records in another place, such as a library or archive.
Records about children in care are controlled by legislation. Your rights to access information will depend on factors such as your relationship to the person and whether the person is still living, as well as the policy of the organisation that holds the records. For more information, see What are my rights to access records about me and others?
Different organisations will have different access policies and procedures. In all cases, when applying for records about a relative, you will need to provide some documentation proving your identity (e.g. driver’s license, birth certificate, health care card) and your relationship to the person who was in care (for example, a birth certificate). Some organisations will require either proof of the person’s death, or if they are still living, the person’s permission for you to access their records.
In Canberra the practices and laws of child welfare and the care of children were those of New South Wales until 1938. ‘Boarding-out’, or foster care, was the preferred form of care, with some small institutions and homes also existing. The ACT system grew only gradually.
In 1938, the first Commonwealth Ordinance—a special Commonwealth law made for Canberra—regulated the adoption of children there. Until 1957, young people in Canberra were institutionalised under NSW laws. The ACT did not have its own entirely separate system of child welfare until self-government, in 1989.
Canberra’s small population meant that there were relatively few children’s homes, and few foster carers, in the Territory, compared to NSW. Because of this, children from the ACT were sometimes placed in institutional and foster care in NSW. Commonwealth Government agencies contracted agencies of the NSW Government to provide services, and to keep the records that went along with them.
If you know your parent or grandparent was in a non-government Home in the ACT, it might be easiest to contact the organisation that now holds records from that Home. After that, or if you don’t know the name of the Home, we suggest you follow the instructions for finding New South Wales records.
Homes, orphanages and institutions in New South Wales were often run by religious or community organisations, and took children on what is called a voluntary basis: that is, the child was committed by a relative or family member. These organisations are the first port of call when trying to access records.
Children were also made wards of the state, usually at a hearing of the Children’s Court. Wards were most commonly placed in foster homes, which was also known as ‘boarding out’. However, the New South Wales government ran more than 100 different Homes and institutions for children and young people from the 1880s until the 1990s. Nearly all children who were made wards of the state spent at least some time in one of these homes and some were placed in Homes run by religious or community organisations.
If your parent or grandparent was a ward of the state in New South Wales (or was from the ACT and was placed in a NSW institution), you can apply to Community Services for access to their records. However, Community Services has advised that only minimal records exist pre-1940.
If your parent or grandparent was in care before 1940, it might be easiest to start by searching for their name in the State Records NSW Index to Child Care and Protection. You can view microfilm copies of the records in the State Records NSW reading room, or you can request photocopies online.
If you do not find the information you were searching for on the State Records website, you can apply to Community Services under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). You can use the application form or write a letter saying that your request is a formal application under the GIPA Act.
Postal address:
Right to Information Unit
Community Services
Locked Bag 4028
ASHFIELD NSW 2131
You will need to provide a copy of a proof of identity document (e.g. driver’s license, birth certificate, health care card) and proof of your relationship to the person who was in care (for example, a birth certificate). There may also be application fees.
The lack of care facilities in the Northern Territory during the first half of the twentieth century affected all children in the care of the government, regardless of their background. When looking for records, it is important to know that many children moved away from the Territory or placed in inappropriate facilities. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children were sent to institutions interstate and during World War II many were evacuated south for the duration of the war. Children with disabilities were sent to southern institutions and children who had committed offences were sometimes placed in adult prisons in the Northern Territory.
The earliest forms of State Care in the Northern Territory were focused on Aboriginal children. On many Missions across the Territory, including in Central Australia and on islands off the coast, children slept in separate dormitories rather than with family. Aboriginal people were placed in government compounds and institutions as a result of government policies. Many Aboriginal children of mixed descent were removed from their parents and taken to children’s institutions in Darwin and Alice Springs. Child removal practices and the later policy of assimilation aimed to separate these children from their families and train them to become part of white society. People affected by these past polices are now known as the Stolen Generations.
Records relating to children in State Care in the Northern Territory were created by Commonwealth and local agencies. These bodies each played different parts in the care process. The Northern Territory was under Commonwealth control from 1911 to 1978, but also had a local Northern Territory Administration with branches responsible for Aboriginal Affairs, Welfare and Health.
From the mid-1950s and after the passing of the Child Welfare Ordinance in 1958, the Welfare Branch of the NT Administration began to establish Receiving Homes for children taken into care. In the 1960s and 1970s, government-run secure care facilities and family group homes were also opened.
Non-government church based organisations also began to establish cottage homes in the 1960s and 1970s. Children were, however, still sent interstate. During the late 1970s-1980s Homes for children with disabilities and youth hostels/refuges were established both by non-government organisations with Commonwealth and Territory government assistance.
Files related to children under the care of the government are primarily held by the Northern Territory Archives Service and the Department for Children and Families. The majority of these have been extensively indexed. Records about children in secure care are held by the Department for Correctional Services. There are also numerous records related to Children’s Homes and institutions held by the National Archives of Australia.
To get access to Northern Territory government records about a family member, you may need to make a Freedom of Information application. For further information, please visit: http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/infocomm/foi/index.htm.
In Queensland a system of orphanages and homes for destitute and neglected children was established from the mid nineteenth century. These institutions were run by the State and by religious or community organisations. Most children were not orphans, but children admitted to State care due to family breakdown or poverty. Indigenous children were placed in ‘care’ simply because of the colour of their skin.
Up until 1900, the majority of children in State care were in institutions. As well as government-run orphanages and reformatories, the Catholic Church, Salvation Army, Methodist Church, Church of England and other religious organisations ran their own institutions, often with assistance from the government. At the turn of the century, the number of children entering institutional-style orphanages or homes began to decrease, with the government moving towards ‘boarding-out’ children.
Records created by private institutions are held by their successor organisation, and this is the organisation you need to contact for access to records. For example, if your parent or grandparent was placed in St Vincent’s Orphanage, the records are held by the Sisters of Mercy at their archives in Banyo. You will need to apply for access directly to the Sisters of Mercy. Each organisation has its own access rules and restrictions.
If your parent or grandparent was admitted to an institution run by the State, or if their care was organised by the State, there is likely to be some evidence of their placement in government records. These records are held at the Queensland State Archives. The amount and quality of these records will vary.
You can apply for access to these records by contacting:
Right to Information, Information Privacy and Screening
Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services
GPO Box 806, Brisbane QLD 4001
Phone: 1800 809 078 or (07) 3224 2242
Email: rti@communities.qld.gov.au
You will need to provide a copy of a proof of identity document (e.g. driver’s licence, birth certificate, health care card) and proof of your relationship to the person who was in care (for example, a birth certificate). There is an application fee.
This page has more information about the Queensland government’s Support for Forgotten Australians.
In South Australia the earliest form of ‘care’ for children who were deemed destitute or neglected was the government-run Destitute Asylum which also took in adults. From the 1860s children began to be accommodated separately in a number of government-run and/or church run institutions. From as early as the 1860s-1870s, boarding out (an early term for foster care) was favoured by the government.
Children committed to the care of the state by a magistrate were referred to as State Children or Wards of the State. Following committal, State Children would be sent to the Industrial School. While some stayed there long term, the majority of children were boarded out. Others were transferred to other government institutions, such as Reformatories, or into the care of religious bodies. By the early twentieth century the Catholic Church, Salvation Army, Methodist Church, Church of England and other religious organisations ran their own institutions, often with assistance from the government.
When a child was committed to State Care, government files and other government records were created about them. These may include files, admission register records and State Ward Index Cards (from 1900-1992) These are government records so they are held by State Records of South Australia. Records of State Care are restricted for 100 years, so if you go to State Records you will only be able to see very early records. In order to see any records less than 100 years old, you will need to apply for access through Freedom of Information from the Government Department which now controls the records.
The “Request for Access under the Freedom of Information Act 1991” application form can be downloaded here. You can submit that form by email, postal mail or in person.
As in other states, not all children were State children. Some children were placed by parents, relatives or others in religious-run institutions. Records created by these organisations are not held at State Records and are not controlled by the government. They are held by the religious or charitable organisations that succeeded these institutions. For example, if your parent or grandparent was placed in a Catholic Home, the records are held by the Professional Standards Record Service of the Catholic Church and you will need to apply for access to them through that body. Each organisation has its own access rules and restrictions. You can find out more by going to the Find & Connect page for the Home your parent or grandparent was in.
Most wards of state in Tasmania were placed in foster care. However, some were placed in Homes run by the government or by voluntary organisations. Children could also be admitted to these Homes as private placements.
The Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office (TAHO) holds many of the case files of state wards. Those case files over 75 years old are open to the public. If you believe your parent or grandparent left care more than 75 years ago, it’s best to start by searching the TAHO website.
You can type in the name of your parent or grandparent in basic search and if there is a case file about them you will see that listed. You can access that file by visiting TAHO.
If your parent or grandparent was a state ward and they were in care less than 75 years ago, you will need to apply to the Department of Health and Human Services for permission to access their case files.
Contact:
After Care Support Program
Department of Health and Human Services
GPO Box 538 HOBART TAS 7001
Phone: 1300 654 583(free call) or (03) 6166 0422
Web: http://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/children/adoption/support_for_care_leavers
If you find your parent or grandparent was placed in an institution rather than foster care, there may be less information on their case file. You may find the institution also kept records. You can look at records tab on the Find & Connect page for that Home for further information, or you can ask the archivist at TAHO for further suggestions.
Historically, Victoria’s child welfare system has relied heavily on care provided by churches and charitable organisations. Where foster care or ‘boarding out’ (considered by the government as the best form of care) was not available, children could be placed in homes, reformatories and other institutions. From the 1920s onwards the number of foster homes available began to fall and more children were placed in institutions.
Many of the homes were established by charitable organisations with religious affiliations children were often admitted ‘voluntary placements’ which may have been arranged by family members. In terms of children who were wards of the state, the Royal Park Depot (later Turana) is a site of enormous significance for care leavers. From approximately 1880 until 1961 it was the only reception centre for children entering state care in Victoria.
The 1954 Children’s Welfare Act widened the scope under which children could be committed to state care, which resulted in an increase in children admitted to the care of the department. Until the passage of this Act, children’s Homes and orphanages were run by charitable and/or religious organisations, the only institutions in Victoria for children run by the state had been reception centres, reformatories for juvenile offenders and disability institutions, and in an earlier era, industrial schools. The 1954 legislation contained new requirements for all non-government Homes to be registered with the Children’s Welfare Department as ‘approved’ children’s homes, juvenile schools or juvenile hostels, and provided for more inspection of these Homes and the children who lived there. After this Act was passed, the Victorian government began to establish its own state-run children’s Homes. From the mid-1950s, the Department began to establish state-run family group homes as well as hostels for young people.
Many government and non-government Homes continued to provide large-scale, congregate care into the 1970s when they moved towards smaller arrangements, such as foster care, group homes and residential units, under the broader movement of deinstitutionalisation.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) manages records relating to wardship and adoption in Victoria. Some of these records are held at DHS, and some are held at Public Record Office Victoria (PROV). Generally, records less than 99 years old are not open to the general public because of the personal and private information they contain. If the records are about you, or members of your family, you have a right to access these records.
If you are reasonably sure your parent or grandparent was a Victorian ward of the state, it’s best to start by contacting the Family Information, Networks and Discovery (FIND) team at DHS:
The Duty Worker, Family Information Networks and Discovery;
Phone: (03) 8608 5700 or 1300 769 926 (for the cost of a local call)
Email: findduty@dhs.vic.gov.au
20/570 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Website: http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/find/
If, however, you are confident they were placed in the Home privately, you could start by contacting the organisation that holds records from the Home directly.
If your parent or grandparent was admitted to a facility run by the Child Welfare Department , or if their care was organised by the department, there is likely to be some evidence of their placement in government records. The amount and quality of these records will vary. Sometimes, it will be only a name in a register.
These records are held at the State Records Office, but permission to access them must be obtained from Freedom of Information at the Department for Child Protection and Family Support.
Contact:
Freedom of Information, Department for Child Protection and Family Support:
PO Box 6334, East Perth WA 6892
Telephone: (08) 6217 6388 or (08) 6217 6381
Facsimile: (08) 9222 2776
Free call in WA: 1800 000 277
Email: foi@cpfs.wa.gov.au/
Web: http://www.dcp.wa.gov.au/SupportingIndividualsAndFamilies/Pages/Searchingforyourfamilyhistory.aspx/
If, however, the child’s placement in a Home was arranged by family, or by family with the informal assistance of a Departmental officer (for example, in the country or one of the suburban regions), it is possible that no Departmental record of that placement or contact was made. In that case, you should contact the organisation where they were placed, or the organisation that now holds the record from that place.
Cite this: http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/resources/searching-for-records-of-a-parent-or-grandparent/
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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