The State Children Relief Act of 1881 [24/1881 (44 Vic. No.24)] created the State Children’s Relief Board [SCRB], a body of nine members that reported to the Colonial Secretary. Its task was to remove children from state-funded institutions and board them out, or foster them, with working class families. This Act enabled the SCRB to…
The Reformatory Schools Act 1866 (30 Victoria, Act No. 4, 1866) came into operation in 1869. Under the Act, any child under the age of sixteen who had been convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to fourteen or more days imprisonment could be sent to a reformatory for one to five years. There were…
The Destitute Children Act [2/1866 (30 Vic. No.2)], also known as the Industrial Schools Act, enabled justices to send vagrant and destitute children under the age of eighteen to work as apprentices or be sent to industrial or reformatory schools. The Act was amended in 1870 to enable boys under the age of six to…
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 is Commonwealth legislation giving the Australian community rights of access to information held by the Government of the Commonwealth (or the Government of Norfolk Island). The FOI Act regulates regulates access to documents created by the Federal Government (not by state or territory government agencies).
The Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth) is an Australian law which regulates the handling of personal information about individuals. This includes the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information. In terms of access to records about an individual’s time in institutional ‘care’, the Commonwealth Privacy Act may be relevant to records held by a non-government…
The Aged Care Act 1997 is the legislation relating to the provision of aged care in Australia. From 1 December 2009, this Act has recognised ‘care leavers’ as a ‘special needs group’. This amendment is part of the Federal Government’s program to improve aged care for Forgotten Australians, in the wake of the Apology in…
The Child Endowment Act 1941 was Commonwealth legislation which introduced the payment of weekly sums to mothers with more than one child, foster mothers, and the managers of privately run children’s institutions, for children under the age of 16. When child endowment began in 1941, children in State or Commonwealth institutions were excluded. From July…
The Empire Settlement Act 1922 was an Imperial Act, passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and applicable in Australia and other Commonwealth nations such as New Zealand and Canada. It was a landmark in the history of Australian immigration, especially for its encouragement of child and youth migration. According to the Lost Innocents…
The Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 was a Commonwealth law. It defined an “immigrant child” as any person under the age of 21 years who came to Australia as an immigrant otherwise than in the charge of, or for the purpose of living in Australia under the care of, any parent or relative of…
The Children (Guardianship and Custody) Act 1984 (No. 10114) was ‘An Act to make provision for certain guardianship and custody orders relating to children and for other purposes’. It commenced on 1 June 1985 and was repealed by the Children and Young Persons Act 1989 (56/1989 ) on 31 January 1991.