A Taskforce with the role of identifying the scope and extent of stolen wages in Western Australia was established in May 2007 by the State Government. The Taskforce found that there was insufficient evidence of wages held in trust being returned to the people who earned them. These people included Aboriginal children who had been in ‘care’. In 2012, the Government established the Stolen Wages Reparation Scheme WA as an expression of regret that this had occurred.
The multi-agency Taskforce was chaired by the Department of Indigenous Affairs and included representatives from the Department for Child Protection and Family Support. A panel of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisors assisted the Taskforce and a Project Team conducted research and consultations: