ºÚÁÏÇ鱨վ

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Report

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Bringing them Home

Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ºÚÁÏÇ鱨վ from Their Families
April 1997

On this page

• Preliminary Pages
  • Dedication
  • Full Contents Page
  • Copyright Notice
  • Terms of Reference
• Part 1 Introduction
  • Chapter 1 The Inquiry
  • The Inquiry
  • Scope of the Inquiry
    • Tracing the history
    • The effects
    • Post-school qualifications for adults 20 years and above
    • Employment status of adults 20 years and above
    • Personal income for adults 20 years and above
    • Self-assessed health status of those 20 years and above
    • Services and procedures available
    • Principles justifying compensation
    • Current placement and care
  • The Inquiry process
    • Testimony
    • Implementation of the recommendations
• Part 2 Tracing the History
  • Chapter 2 National Overview
    • National Overview
    • Colonisation
    • Protection and segregation of Indigenous people in the nineteenth century
    • Merging and absorption
    • Merging becomes assimilation
    • Removal of Indigenous children under child welfare legislation
    • Self-management and self-determination
    • Estimating the numbers removed
  • Chapter 3 New South Wales and the ACT
    • Early policies and practices
    • Segregation and merging
    • Assimilation 1937-1975
    • Towards self-management
  • Chapter 4 Victoria
    • Segregation 1835-1886
    • Merging and dispersing 1886-1957
    • Assimilation 1957-1970
    • Self-management
  • Chapter 5 Queensland
    • Colonial policies and practices
    • Segregation 1897-1965
    • Assimilation from 1956
    • Repeal of protectionist legislation
  • Chapter 6 Tasmania
    • Policies and practices
    • The colonial period
    • Assimilation
    • Self-management
  • Chapter 7 Western Australia
    • Initial contact
    • The 1905 Act
    • Assimilation
  • Chapter 8 South Australia
    • Early policies and practices
    • Protection 1908-1939
    • Assimilation 1936-1962
  • Chapter 9 Northern Territory
    • Occupation of the Territory
    • Protection and segregation 1890-1937
    • Assimilation 1937-1973
    • Self-management
• Part 3 Consequences of Removal
  • Chapter 10 ºÚÁÏÇ鱨վs Experiences
    • ºÚÁÏÇ鱨վs Experiences
    • Placement stability
    • Placement types, Inquiry witnesses
    • Totality of separation
    • Institutional conditions
    • Sexual abuse
    • Sexual assaults reported by Inquiry witnesses
    • Protection
    • Bonds of affection
    • Education
    • Work and wages
  • Chapter 11 The Effects
    • The effects of separation from the primary carer
      • Attachment
      • Age at removal
      • Skills and learning
    • The effects of institutionalisation
      • Institutional and other placements Inquiry witnesses
    • The effects of abuses and denigration
      • Sexual Abuse
      • Other trauma
      • After-effects of forcible removal
      • Racism
    • The effects of separation from the Indigenous community
      • Cultural knowledge
      • Indigenous identity
      • Native title
    • The effects on family and community
    • Inter-generational effects
      • Parenting
      • Behavioural problems
      • Violence
      • Unresolved grief and trauma
      • Depression and mental illness
  • Chapter 12 Reunion
    • Importance of reunions
    • Joyous reunions
    • Reunion impossible
    • Complicating factors
    • Bonds broken forever
    • Unwelcome news
    • Unsupported reunions
    • Community reunion
    • Impacts on foster and adoptive families
    • International removals
• Part 4 Reparation
  • Chapter 13 Grounds for Reparation
    • Evaluation of government actions
    • Two broad periods
  • Colonial legal standards
    • Deprivation of liberty
    • Administrative removal powers not subject to prior judicial scrutiny
    • Deprivation of parental rights
    • Abuses of power
    • Breach of guardianship duties
    • Statutory sources of guardianship and related fiduciary obligations
  • International human rights
    • Systematic racial discrimination
    • Genocide
    • Conclusion
  • Chapter 14 Making Reparation
    • Findings
    • The right to compensation
    • A human rights framework
    • The van Boven Principles
  • Acknowledgment and apology
    • Government statements
    • Church statements
  • Guarantees against repetition
  • Land, culture and language restitution
  • Monetary compensation
    • Civil claims for compensation
    • Ex-gratia payments
    • A national compensation fund
    • Procedural principles
    • Assessment of compensation
• Part 5 Services for Those Affected
  • Chapter 15 Evaluating Government Responses
    • Evaluation
    • The Inquirys evaluation criteria
    • Endnotes
  • Chapter 16 Access to Personal and Family Records
    • Existing services and procedures
    • Evaluation government objectives
    • Evaluation Inquiry criteria
    • Recommendations
  • Chapter 17 Funding for Reunion Assistance
    • Evaluation government objectives
    • Evaluation Inquiry criteria
    • Recommendations
    • International removal
  • Chapter 18 Mental Health Services
    • Existing services
    • Evaluation government objectives
    • Evaluation Inquiry criteria
    • Recommendations
  • Chapter 19 Responses of Churches and Other Non-Government Agencies
    • Sharing responsibility
    • Contemporary attitudes
    • General proposals
  • Access to personal and family records
    • Need for records
    • Practical access problems
    • Policy deficiencies
    • Current access procedures
    • Proposals
    • Recommendations
  • Counselling services
    • Need
    • Church counselling services
    • Evaluation
  • Restitution of land
    • Church responsibility
    • Church efforts
    • Proposals
    • Recommendation
• Part 6 Contemporary Separations
  • Chapter 20 Introduction
  • Chapter 21 Child Welfare Care and Protection
    • Overview
    • Over-representation of Indigenous children in care
    • Indigenous children in care in 1993
    • Abuse and neglect notifications, investigation, substantiation and orders,
      1995-96
    • Categories of substantiated abuse and neglect involving Indigenous childrenCategories of substantiated abuse and neglect involving all children
  • Australian welfare systems
    • Powers
    • Philosophy
    • Indigenous efforts to retain their children
    • Welfare efforts to include the needs of Indigenous clients
  • Aboriginal Child Placement Principle:
    State and Territory review
    • New South Wales
    • Non-Indigenous care for Indigenous children in care: NSW
    • South Australia
    • Notifications of SA Indigenous children
    • Northern Territory
    • Victoria
    • Western Australia
    • Queensland
    • Indigenous children on care and protection orders in Queensland
    • Tasmania
    • Indigenous State wards in Tasmania
    • ACT
    • Evaluation of the ACPP
  • Failure of the welfare approach
    • Definitions of welfare, well-being, need and neglect
    • Systemic inequalities
    • Bureaucratic procedures
    • ºÚÁÏÇ鱨վ with disabilities
    • Conclusions
    • Endnotes
  • Chapter 22 Adoption
    • Overview
    • Laws, practices and policies
    • Recognition in policy only
    • Statutory recognition of ACPP
    • Statutory recognition of ACPP and role of AICCAs
    • Numbers and effects
    • Adoptions of Indigenous children between 1 July 1990 and 30 June 1995
    • Evaluation
    • Conclusion
  • Chapter 23 Family Law
    • Family Law Act 1975
    • The guidelines
    • Long-term welfare of Indigenous children
    • Kinship obligations
    • Western Australia
  • Chapter 24 Juvenile Justice
  • The processes of juvenile justice separations
    • Police custody
    • National Police Custody Survey, August 1995
    • Young people in police custody in each State and Territory, August 1995
    • Juvenile detention centres
    • Young people in juvenile corrective institutions, 30 June 1996
    • Level of over-representation for Indigenous youth, 30 June 1996
    • Comparing males and females in juvenile corrective institutions, 30 June 1996
    • Changing populations in juvenile corrective institutions
  • Juvenile justice legislation
  • Juvenile justice policy and program responses
    • New South Wales
    • South Australia
    • Victoria
    • Northern Territory
    • Tasmania
    • Western Australia
    • Queensland
    • ACT
    • Commonwealth
  • Causes of separation
    • Policing
    • Diversionary schemes
    • Sentencing
    • Detention centres
    • Juvenile deaths in custody
  • Conclusions
    • Endnotes
  • Chapter 25 Underlying Issues
    • Demography
    • Family and cultural relations
    • Domestic violence
    • Alcohol and substance abuse
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Employment and income
    • Education
    • Inter-generational effects and later removal
    • Discussion and recommendation
    • Endnotes
  • Chapter 26 A New Framework
  • Self-determination
    • The right to self-determination
    • Implementing self-determination in Australia
    • Implementing self-determination in other countries
    • Recommendations
  • National minimum standards
    • Endnotes
• Appendices
  • Appendix 1.1 New South Wales
  • Appendix 1.2 Australian Capital Territory
  • Appendix 2 Victoria
  • Appendix 3 Queensland
  • Appendix 4 Tasmania
  • Appendix 5 Western Australia
  • Appendix 6 South Australia
  • Appendix 7 Northern Territory
  • Appendix 8 The van Boven Principles
  • Appendix 9 Recommendations
  • Appendix 10 Schedule of Hearings
  • Appendix 11 Evidence and Submissions
    • Australia
    • ACT
    • International
    • New South Wales
    • Northern Territory
    • Queensland
    • South Australia
    • Tasmania
    • Victoria
    • Western Australia
  • Appendix 12 Acknowledgments
  • Bibliography