Supporting Care-Leavers in Later Life: Why Trauma-Aware Aged Care Matters

Over 500,000 people in Australia spent their childhood in institutional or out-of-home care. Many are now ageing and face unique challenges as they seek support in later life.

These individuals are often referred to as care leavers. But this term includes several specific groups, each with a unique and frequently painful history.

Who Are Care-Leavers?

Care-leavers are people who, as children, were removed from their families and placed in out-of-home care. In the Australian context, this includes:

1. Forgotten Australians

Approximately 440,000 non-Indigenous children were placed in institutional care or foster homes between 1920 and 1989. Churches, charities, and state governments across Australia ran these institutions. Children were placed in orphanages, children's homes, missions, and reformatories.

Many Forgotten Australians experienced:

• Physical, emotional, and sexual abuse
• Forced labour and rigid discipline
• Separation from siblings and families
• Loss of identity and belonging

The term "Forgotten Australians" emerged from a 2004 Senate Inquiry report titled Forgotten Australians: A report on Australians who experienced institutional or out-of-home care as children, which formally recognised their mistreatment and lifelong impact.

2. Former Child Migrants

Up to 10,000 children were sent to Australia from Britain, Ireland, and Malta between the 1920s and 1970s through government-endorsed child migration schemes. These children were typically from poor families or placed in institutional care in the UK.

The UK and Australian governments promoted child migration as a way to:

• Reduce the financial burden on post-war Britain by relocating children
• Populate Australia with white British stock, aligning with the White Australia Policy
• Provide children with a supposed "better life" in a new country

Upon arrival, children were placed in large institutions or remote farm schools, such as:

• Fairbridge Farms in New South Wales and Western Australia
• Bindoon Boys Town (Christian Brothers) in Western Australia
• Nazareth House, Barnardo’s Homes, and Salvation Army homes

Despite the promises, many children suffered:

• Harsh discipline and forced labour
• Abuse and neglect
• Loss of family connections and identity

In 2010, then-Prime Ministers of both the UK and Australia issued national apologies to child migrants for the harm caused.



3. Stolen Generations

Approximately 50,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from their families between the 1890s and 1970s under various state and federal government assimilation policies.

Children were placed in:

• Government-run or church-run missions
• Reserves and institutions
• Non-Indigenous foster homes and training schools

The goal of these removals was to erase Indigenous cultures and integrate children into white society. Many never saw their families again and were denied the right to speak their languages or practice their culture.

The impacts have been intergenerational and enduring, including:

• Loss of cultural identity and connection to Country
• Emotional trauma and disrupted family structures
• Socioeconomic disadvantage and systemic discrimination

The term Stolen Generations became widely used after the 1997 Bringing Them Home report, which documented these removals and called for national recognition and redress.



Where Did the Term "Care-Leaver" Come From?

The term care-leaver originated in the UK and has since been adopted in Australia. It refers broadly to people who have transitioned out of the child welfare system or institutional care. In modern contexts, it's often used to refer to young people leaving foster care.

In Australia, however, the term has evolved to include older people who received care in institutions or foster homes before the introduction of modern child protection standards.

While not everyone who lived in care identifies with the label, it serves as an umbrella term that acknowledges the shared experience of being removed from family and growing up in state or institutional care.

Barriers to Aged Care for Care-Leavers

Many care-leavers find it challenging to access aged care due to:

• Fear of re-traumatisation in institutional settings
• Mistrust of authority and government systems
• Emotional distress when asked to retell personal histories
• Lack of trauma-aware or culturally safe support

As a result, some avoid care altogether, risking isolation, poor health, and unmet needs.

Aged Care Is Changing

Under the new Aged Care Act, care-leavers will have a right to:

• Trauma-aware and healing-informed services
• Culturally safe assessments
• Support that respects identity and life experience
• Privacy and dignity, including the right not to retell painful stories



These changes aim to ensure aged care is not one-size-fits-all, but instead responsive to the complex histories and needs of people like care-leavers.

How FOCUS Connect Supports Care-Leavers

FOCUS Connect provides home and community-based aged care that respects the dignity, identity, and needs of every individual.

Our services include:

• Trauma-aware aged care support delivered at home
• Continuity of care, so you don't have to keep retelling your story
• Culturally safe practices, including support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders
• Compassionate staff who listen without judgment

You deserve to feel safe, respected, and supported.

You Are Not Alone

Whether you identify as a Forgotten Australian, a former child migrant, part of the Stolen Generations, or simply someone who experienced out-of-home care, we see you.

We are here to support you in ageing well, staying connected to your community, and receiving care that understands your journey.

Need Support?

At FOCUS Connect, we believe aged care should be trauma-aware, culturally safe, and grounded in dignity.  Let’s make aged care a place where you feel safe, respected, and truly supported.



📞 02 4627 1188

🌐 www.focusconnect.org.au