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Bringing Them Home

This landing page provides information and relevant links relating to Bringing Them Home.

Introduction

In response to the Bringing Them Home Report of the 1997 National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families, the Australian Government funded a number of programs for the social and emotional well being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These programs are administered through the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health in the Department of Health and Ageing and include the Bringing Them Home and Link Up Programs. Over $25 million is expended on these programs per annum.

Link Up Program

The Link Up Program provides a national network of services supporting and assisting Aboriginal people affected by past removal policies in tracing their family history and potentially reuniting them with their families.

Bringing Them Home and Link Up Counsellors Handbook (PDF 794 KB)

Link Up Manual

The following attachment is the Link Up Services Program Manual for Service Providers.

Link Up Manual (PDF 1154 KB)

If you are unable to download the PDF document please email oatsih.enquiries@health.gov.au or phone 02 6289 5291.

List of Link Up Services

The Link Up Program funds 9 Link Up Services across the country to provide support, guidance and assistance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people forcibly removed from their families and communities as a result of past governments’ laws, policies and practices, to trace, locate and reunite with their families.

If you are interested in finding out locations of Link Up Services, please click on this link.

Bringing Them Home Counsellor Program

The Bringing Them Home Counsellor program funds more than 100 counsellors nationally to provide counselling to individuals and families, and communities affected by past practices regarding the forced removal of children from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

Bringing Them Home and Link Up Counsellors Handbook (PDF 794 KB)

Bringing Them Home – History

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have been forcibly removed from their families and communities since the earliest days of European occupation of Australia” (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission – The Bringing Them Home Report, 1997 p27).

In May 1995, the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families was conducted in response to efforts by key Aboriginal agencies and communities to increase public attention to this issue. The Report of the Inquiry was entitled, “Bringing Them Home – National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families”.

For further information on the history of the Bringing Them Home Report, visit the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission website.

The National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families is commonly known as the Bringing Them Home Report and was tabled in parliament on 26 May 1997.

You may also wish to obtain information on the two peak advocate groups Stolen Generation members; the National Sorry Day Committee and the Stolen Generations Alliance.

Bringing Them Home – Evaluation

In March 2006, Urbis Keys Young, an independent social research firm, was commissioned by the Department of Health and Ageing to evaluate the Bringing Them Home (BTH) and Indigenous Mental Health Programs.

The evaluation report was launched in May 2007.

The main achievements of the program were as follows:

• the Link Up and BTH Programs, and Mental Health Service Delivery Projects have provided services to a large number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people nationally;
• the Link Up and BTH Programs, and Mental Health Service Delivery Projects have provided services to many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are unlikely to have received services otherwise;
• the programs have generally been provided in a culturally appropriate way; and
• there are generally high levels of client satisfaction and positive outcomes for clients of Link Up and BTH services, and the Mental Health Service Delivery Projects.

Some of the main limitations of the programs were that:

• there has not been enough focus on the first generation Stolen Generations members. Most of the clients of the Link Up and BTH services are second and later generations, and only a minority are first generation;
• there are major variations in the skills and qualifications of staff of the Link Up and (particularly) the BTH Programs, and Social and Emotional Well-being Regional Centre’s need to provide greater workforce support;
• there is a lack of national consistency in the way the programs are delivered; and
• the programs have limited geographical coverage, and do not provide good coverage of the entire areas they are required to.

For further information on the Urbis Keys Young evaluation of the Bringing Them Home Programs, click on this link.