The Oasis Youth Residential Service was established in 1978. It was originally known as the LASA Youth Refuge, a joint project of the Salvation Army and the Weston Creek Lions Club (LASA stood for Lions and Salvation Army). Its first location was in Kingston, and around 1986 the refuge moved to Waramanga. In the 2000s…
The ACT Heritage Library is the state library of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It was officially opened in 1995, and is located in the suburb of Woden. The ACT Heritage Library collects, manages and provides access to material relevant to the ACT’s documentary heritage. It offers assistance in researching matters relating to the ACT….
The Children and Young People Act 2008 (Act no.19/2008) repealed the Children and Young People Act 1999. The Act addressed the priority of responding early to concerns about children and young people and improving outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and ‘therapeutic protection.’ The Act was passed on 17 July 2008. The…
ArchivesACT provides access to records of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government. ArchivesACT was established in 2008, and is located in the suburb of Woden, next to the ACT Heritage Library. The ArchivesACT’s collection includes health medical records, records of births, deaths and marriages, citizenship and naturalisation papers, and coroner’s records. In order to assist…
Lowana Youth Services, located in Kambah, was established in 1989. It provided transitional housing for young people experiencing homelessness and/or leaving youth justice institutions. It included a safe house for young women escaping family violence. Lowana Youth Services was closed by the ACT government in April 2012 as part of a re-design of specialist homelessness…
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Kinship and Foster Care Service is part of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services (ATSIS), Australian Capital Territory Government. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Kinship and Foster Care Service aims to provide culturally appropriate placement options for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people who…
The Office for Children, Youth and Family Support was established in 2004. It is an administrative unit of the Community Services Directorate (formerly the Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services). The Office works to provide care, support and protection services to children, young people and families in the Australian Capital Territory. In addition, the…
Adoption is the legal process which transfers the legal rights and responsibilities of being a parent from a child’s birth parents to adoptive parents. The Adoption of Children Ordinance 1938 regulated adoption in the ACT for the first time. The 1938 Ordinance was repealed by the Adoption of Children Ordinance 1965 which marked a distinct…
The Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act (Act no. 106/1988) marked the commencement of self-government in 1988. With the passage of this Act, the ACT was provided a fully elected legislature, an executive and an independent court system. Prior to 1988 the Australian Federal Government and the Commonwealth Parliament governed the Australian Capital Territory from its…
The Adoption of Children Ordinance 1965 (Act no. 15/1965) marked a distinct turning point in adoption law, recognising that the paramount consideration for decisions made should be the welfare and interests of the child concerned. This legislation was passed in response to the Commonwealth government’s push for model legislation to harmonise adoption law in Australia….
Dec 17, 2025
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024