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Department of Justice, State of Western Australia

The Department of Justice was created by changing the name of the Ministry of Justice on 1 July 2001. It retained the same functions. The Department was abolished on 1 February 2006, with its youth justice functions going to the Department of Corrective Services.

Ministry of Justice, State of Western Australia

The Ministry of Justice was established on 1 January 1993 by an amalgamation of the Corrective Services and Crown Law Departments, and the Youth Justice Bureau. Juvenile justice functions that had previously been under the Child Welfare Act 1947 came under the control of the Ministry of Justice when the Young Offenders Act 1994 came…

Nulsen Haven

Nulsen Haven was a home for children with intellectual disabilities. It was run by the Mentally Incurable Children’s Association (MICA) in the Perth suburb of Redcliffe from 1956. In May 1975 a new dormitory was opened at Nulsen Haven. In 1986, MICA became the Nulsen Haven Association Inc (known as ‘Nulsen’). By 1992, the Home…

Mentally Incurable Children’s Association

The Mentally Incurable Children’s Association (MICA) was formed in 1954 to develop appropriate respite and longer term accommodation for children with severe intellectual disabilities. In 1956, with the support of then Minister for Health, Emil Nulsen, a Home which was called ‘Nulsen Haven’ opened in Redcliffe. MICA later changed to its present name, Nulsen Haven…

Hawkevale

Hawkevale was started by the Slow Learning Children’s Group (SLCG) on a property in Maida Vale in 1957. It was a ‘farm village’ for adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities, and offered accommodation, employment and recreation. Hawkevale was replaced by a new facility in High Wycombe in 1970. Hawkevale was named after the Premier, Mr…

Irrabeena

Irrabeena began in 1961 as the Slow Learning Children’s Group’s diagnostic and assessment centre in Perth. In 1964, Irrabeena became part of the Mental Health Services. Children were assessed at Irrabeena before placement. It is not yet known when Irrabeena closed, but no mention of it has been found since the early 1990s.

Slow Learning Children’s Group

The Slow Learning Children’s Group (SLCG) began in Perth in 1951. A group of parents whose children had intellectual disabilities created an organisation that resulted in educational and training programs, appropriate residential facilities, meaningful employment and pathways to independence for all Western Australians with intellectual disabilities. In 1989, the SLCG changed its name to Activ…

Disability Services Commission

The Disability Services Commission (DSC) was formed by the ‘Disability Services Act 1993 Western Australia’. The DSC merged and replaced the Authority for the Intellectually Handicapped (AIH, or ‘Irrabeena’) and the Bureau for Disability Services. The Act made the DSC responsible to the Minister for Disability Services, with its key functions being to ‘unify and…

Board of Visitors, Heathcote

A Board of Visitors for the Heathcote Reception Centre was introduced in 1929 for the independent oversight and ‘protection’ of patients. [From the State Records Office of Western Australia] Following an amendment to the Lunacy Act 1903 in 1920, a Board of Visitors system was introduced in Western Australia for the protection of patients in…

Board of Visitors, Claremont Mental Hospital

A Board of Visitors for the Claremont Mental Hospital was introduced in 1920 for the independent oversight and ‘protection’ of patients. [From the State Records Office of Western Australia] Following an amendment to the Lunacy Act 1903 in 1920, a Board of Visitors system was introduced in Western Australia for the protection of patients in…