The Carpentarian Reformatory was established by the Department of Charitable Institutions at Brush Farm, a historic property in Eastwood, in 1894. It was located in an area sometimes referred to as Dundas Heights, so is often described as being in Dundas. In 1897, the management of the Reformatory was taken over by the State Children’s…
Uncontrollable is a term used in child welfare legislation and in child welfare files. It was generally used by authorities to describe a child believed to be undisciplined. Being uncontrollable could be a reason for a child to be deemed neglected and made a ward of the state in court. Parents and guardians could declare…
Probation refers to children or young people being committed by the Children’s Court to a period of supervision by the child welfare department in their state or territory. In New South Wales, probation was introduced in 1905 as part of the Children’s Court system. It was a way of supervising children who had been charged…
Juvenile justice is the system of dealing with crimes committed by children and minors through courts, probation and detention programmes. As early as the 1840s it was recognised that young offenders should receive different treatment to adults. The first colonial laws to tackle children’s criminal behaviour were passed in the 1860s. Since this time, the…
The Family Endowment Act 1927, passed by the Lang Labor government, introduced a new payment to families in New South Wales. Family endowment was a flat rate paid to all non-Aboriginal families, irrespective of circumstances and is considered the first universal welfare payment made in Australia. It made a significant difference to the wellbeing of…
In Moral Danger (sometimes abbreviated as IMD) was a term in common use in government departments and welfare agencies in the twentieth century. It referred to one of the categories of a ‘child in need of care and protection’ under the various child welfare acts in Australian states and territories. Being ‘exposed to moral danger’…
Child guidance clinics were first established in Australia in the 1930s. Such clinics had been developed in the United States in the 1920s, for the diagnosis and treatment of mild behaviour and emotional problems in school-aged children (Wright, 2012). An important motive in the development of child guidance clinics was to counteract ‘juvenile delinquency’, but…
The Children’s Court of New South Wales was established in 1905, with the passing of the Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act. Children’s Courts were proclaimed at Sydney, Newcastle, Parramatta, Burwood and Broken Hill. A Children’s Court is a hearing, intended to ensure children receive specialist support and they are sheltered from adult courts. While…
Apprenticeship was the practice of sending children in institutions or foster care into placements with employers once they were too old to attend school. It was not a trade apprenticeship as such, and generally meant children were sent to live in a private home to work as a farm labourer (for boys) or a domestic…
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare defines adoption as “The legal process by which a person legally becomes a child of the adoptive parent(s) and legally ceases to be a child of his/her existing parent(s)”. In Australia, each state or territory has its own adoption legislation and its own policies and processes. In the…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
