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Victoria - Glossary Term

State Ward (c. 1880 - 1990s)

  • Kids Speak Out: What it's like being a State Ward

    Kids Speak Out: What it's like being a State Ward, 1984, courtesy of Anglicare Victoria.
    Details

From
c. 1880
To
1990s
Categories
Glossary Term
Alternative Names
  • Ward of State

'State ward' or 'ward of state' was the term used to describe a child under the guardianship of a State child welfare authority (such as the Victorian Child Welfare Department).

Victoria abandoned use of the term 'ward' with the Children and Young Person's Act 1989, when the language shifted to 'children in need of protection'. However, some young people remained as wards until the expiry of their order, that is, till the early to mid-1990s.

Details

The term 'ward' first appeared in the 1887 Neglected Children's Act.

The State, as the ward of state's 'guardian', assumed responsibility for the care, custody and control of the child to the exclusion of parental rights. A decision was made in the Children's Court, according to the provisions of different child welfare legislation, for example the Children's Welfare Act 1954.

A state ward was judged by the authorities as being 'in need of care and protection'. An application for wardship could be made on various grounds, depending on the terms of different child welfare acts. A child could be classed a ward because they were deemed 'neglected', or 'uncontrollable', or 'in moral danger'.

State wards in Victoria were generally 'processed' at the reception centre at Royal Park (known as the 'depot' and 'Turana') before being placed in an institution or boarded out into foster care.

From the 1920s, due to a shortage of foster carers, it became more common for state wards to be placed by the government in institutions, such as orphanages or children's homes. These institutions were run by religious or charitable organisations, who received regular 'per head' payments from the state for the 'care' of wards. The government also reimbursed institutions for state wards' expenses.

By the 1950s in Victoria, around half its state wards were in institutions. This figure increased to 85% by the early 1960s, and did not start to decline until the end of the decade. Victoria's relied on the non-government sector for the care of state wards much more than other states of Australia. From the 1950s, the government began to establish a number of state-run institutions for children and young offenders.

State wards who experienced out of home 'care' as children are more likely to have some personal records about their time in 'care' than people who were 'voluntarily' placed in institutions not overseen by the government.

The 'Forgotten Australians' report noted that 'non-wards' experienced particular difficulties in their search for records about their time in care.

Because we were not legally 'Wards of the State', we have no records except for admission data [Submission 6, quoted in Forgotten Australians].

Because of this paucity of records, 'non-wards' were described in the Report as 'largely invisible' to the state authorities in Victoria [see 9.22 of the Report].

Related Glossary Terms

Related Legislation

  • Children's Welfare Act 1928 (1929 - 1955)

    The terms under which a child or young person could be admitted to the 'care' of the Children's Welfare Department are set out in the Children's Welfare Act 1928 (these provisions were amended by the Children's Welfare Act 1933).

    Date: 1928 - 1954

  • Children's Welfare Act 1933 (1933 - 1955)

    The terms under which a child or young person could be admitted to the 'care' of the Children's Welfare Department are set out in the Children's Welfare Act 1933 (as well as the Children's Welfare Act 1928).

    Date: 1933 - 1954

  • Children's Welfare Act 1954 (1955 - 1959)

    The terms under which a child or young person could be admitted to the 'care' of the Children's Welfare Department (or, from 1960, to the Social Welfare Branch of the Chief's Secretary's Department) are set out in Part III of the Children's Welfare Act 1954 (as well as the Children's Welfare Act 1958).

    Date: 1954 - 1970

  • The Neglected Children's Act 1887 (1888 - 1890)

    The terms under which a child or young person could be admitted to the 'care' of the Department for Neglected Children are set out in the Neglected Children's Act 1887.

    Date: 1887 - 1890

  • The Neglected Children's Act 1890 (1890 - 1915)

    The terms under which a child or young person could be admitted to the 'care' of the Department for Neglected Children are set out in the Neglected Children's Act 1890.

    Date: 1890 - 1915

  • Neglected Children's Act 1915 (1915 - 1929)

    The terms under which a child or young person could be admitted to the 'care' of the Department for Neglected Children are set out in the Neglected Children's Act 1915.

    Date: 1915 - 1928

  • Social Welfare Act 1970 (1971 - 1978)

    The terms under which a child or young person could be admitted to the 'care' of the Social Welfare Department are set out in the Social Welfare Act 1970.

    Date: 1970 - 1989

Related Organisations

Publications

Books

  • Kids speak out: what it's like being a State Ward, Mission of St James and St John, May 1984. Details
  • Carter, Jenny, A Guide to the Victorian Children's Registers, Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies, Blackburn, 1994. Details

Online Resources

Photos

Kids Speak Out: What it's like being a State Ward
Title
Kids Speak Out: What it's like being a State Ward
Type
Document
Date
1984
Source
Anglicare Victoria

Details

Sources used to compile this entry: Victorian Government, 'Victorian Government Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care (Submission 173)', in Inquiry into Institutional Care: Submissions received as at 17/03/05, July 2003, http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sublist; Brendan Nathan (Team Leader, Freedom of Information), Corporate Integrity Information and Resolutions unit, Department of Human Services.

Prepared by: Cate O'Neill