More than one million paper-based historical records of former wards of the state, Care Leavers, Forgotten Australians and Stolen Generations (children, young people and adults) have been appraised and indexed by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
Some records are more than 150 years old. They include hard bound indexes and registers, files and card systems, handwritten records and more, from former government and non-government institutions as well as departmental functions, including:
- Child protection/child welfare (such as orphanages, children’s homes, foster care, missions, family group homes)
- Youth justice (such as reception centres, remand centres, youth training centres)
- Disability services
- Mental health services.
This website contains more than 200 collection guides to assist in accessing these records.
Reviewed 30 April 2019