The Find and Connect web resource is the online component of a nationwide program which includes support services that provide counselling & assistance to people who spent time in care as children between 1920 and 1980.
We help people find information about the institutions they lived in, the legislative and social environment that created the welfare policies of the time, and, where records created about the children exist, how to access them.
We work with people who spent time in care to ensure their voice and experiences are central to the history of child welfare in Australia, and have developed policies on privacy, language and images to ensure the site is a safe and respectful place.
For assistance to locate, apply for, and access records, contact a support service direct from the site by email, or call 1800 16 11 09.
If you were in out-of-home care in Australia before 1990, you can find relevant information here, whether you identify as a Care Leaver, Forgotten Australian, Homie, Wardy, or don’t identify with any group at all. There is historical information about Former Child Migrants and Stolen Generations, however these groups have dedicated support services which can be found here, or we can put you in touch with a dedicated service if you contact us.
The Find & Connect web resource was developed by a team of historians, archivists and social workers from the University of Melbourne and Australian Catholic University, with funding from the Australian Government.
To provide feedback on the web resource, particularly if you have information about any of the Homes on the site, you can email us here.
If you are researching your family history, unfortunately we are unable to assist you personally, however there is helpful information here.
If you have any complaints regarding Find & Connect, please use the email form, select “Providing Feedback” under “How can we help you” & begin your message with “Complaint”.
Who we are: current staff & chief investigators