Please contact the Freedom of Information Team at the Department for Child Protection:
Phone: (08) 8226 4399
Postal address: GPO Box 1072, Adelaide SA 5001
Email: DCP.FOI@sa.gov.au
Website, Out-of-Home Care information: https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/research-and-publications/freedom-information/provision-information-care-leavers
Website, Adoptions information: https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/support-and-guidance/adoption-processes/applying-for-adoption-information
Quote this number to access your records: State Records of South Australia Series ID, GRS/856
These records are part of Records of the Social Welfare Department and predecessors (1849 - c. 1987).
This series contains the client files for children who were under the care of South Australian Government agencies responsible for child welfare. The contents of the files varies for each child, but generally document case planning and service provision. The files often including records relating to assessments and evaluations, finances and payments, referrals, foster and residential care placements, juvenile offences, appeals, complaints, injuries, programs the child participated in, correspondence, and legal documentation. These files were closed three years after the child turned 18 years old. Unfortunately most files closed between 1973 and 1982 have been destroyed, with only a 5% sample of these files retained.
Access to records in this series is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to these records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information team.
Files in this series have been arranged alphabetically by the name of the child. Records within the case files are arranged based on a numeric filing system created by the department. The numbers within the system refer to the purpose of the records within each system – e.g. records about maintenance payments have a different number to records about a child’s medical care.