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Royal Commission into Charitable Institutions, Victoria

On 1 August 1870, a Royal Commission was appointed to enquire into the conditions and management of the charitable institutions of the Colony, and generally into all matters connected therewith. The Report of Royal Commission into Charitable Institutions with Minutes of Evidence and Appendices was tabled in Parliament in 1871. The findings were generally very…

Wattle Day Appeal

The Wattle Day Appeal was an annual fundraising event, used to raise funds for children’s institutions and other charitable organisations. The annual Wattle Day Appeal began in 1910, with Wattle Day events held in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Over the next few years, Wattle Day events were also held in Queensland and…

Committee of Enquiry into Child Care Services, Victoria

The Enquiry into Child Care Services in Victoria was announced by Premier R.J. Hamer in December 1974. Its final report, from June 1976, is often referred to as ‘the Norgard Report’ (after the Committee Chairman, Mr J.D. Norgard). The Enquiry led the Committee to a two-fold conclusion: ‘not only is there a disconcerting degree of…

Transfer of children from Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Norfolk Island to New South Wales (NSW)

A number of children and young people from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) were transferred to New South Wales (NSW) to be placed in ‘care’. Under a Commonwealth agreement called the Child Welfare Agreement Ordinance 1941, children who were committed to institutions by courts in the Australian Capital Territory went to placements in New South…

Apology to People Affected by Past Forced Adoption Practices, Parliament of the Australian Capital Territory

The ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher presented a formal apology to people who have been affected by past forced adoption practices in Australia from the late 1940s through to the 1980s on the 14th August 2012 at the ACT Legislative Assembly in Canberra. The apology by the ACT Government acknowledged that Commonwealth policies significantly affected…