Our True Stories
The following stories are based on real-life experiences of Forgotten Australians and may contain sensitive or traumatising content.
Michelle
In this Interview, Michelle walks us through her childhood whilst in institutional ‘care.’ Michelle was one month old when she was placed into an institution and during this time, she recalls a number of occasions where she was abused, segregated, mistreated, and lied to by ‘carers.’
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Robert
In this interview, Robert shares a story about a time when Robert and his sister were placed in institutional ‘care.’ Robert was in institutional ‘care’ for 6 weeks and during this time he faced sexual abuse and many other traumatising events.
‘Never
Forgotten’
This video is a collection of interviews sharing the perspective of six Forgotten Australians about their thoughts on aged and community care. We acknowledge the Forgotten Australians who participated and shared their stories. Thank you to the Griffith University Film Students for focusing their assessment on this important topic and creating the film.
Margo
Forgotten Australian Margo is an Executive Director at Fenians, Fremantle, Freedom Festival, and book author of 'Left Unsaid'. In this interview, Margo explains how she and her brother navigated their way through traumatic childhoods, including as wards and in care.
Marie
Marie was placed in multiple institutional 'care' homes as a child and suffered abuse during her time in these homes. Marie has seen many parallels between the mistreatment she suffered in her childhood years and the misuse of power from staff and organisations in the Aged Care Sector. This has resulted in many re-traumatising events that she has had to live through and manage without the comfort of her personal home and family support.
Ell
Margaret
Margaret was placed into institutional ‘care’ when she was three years old. She reflects how she was meant to be in ‘care’ for a few weeks, however, due to unfortunate circumstances she was trapped in institutional ‘care’ for 1 year. As part of this interview, Margaret discusses how during this time she was split from her family and stripped of her identity.
Lana and Gloria
Both Lana and Gloria were less than one year old when they were placed into institutional ‘care.’ In institutional ‘care,’ both Lana and Gloria suffered greatly.
Bill
As a Forgotten Australian Bill reflects on his experiences as he ages and shares his opinions on aged care.
Robert
Robert was removed from his family and placed into institutional 'care' at an early age. Due to the childhood abuse that he suffered, Robert now has a brain injury that causes some cognitive impairment. These issues, and other contributing factors, have led to difficulty living independently and receiving proper care and support.
Marj
Marj suffered multiple instances of sexual abuse while she was in institutional 'care' from individuals that were supposed to take care of and look after her. The effects of this trauma followed her into her adult life in many ways. Marj married young and was a victim of domestic abuse within this relationship as well as suffering from having no control of the finances in her life at the time.
Ell was placed into institutional 'care' as a toddler and was later introduced into the foster care system. As a result of this, Ell was never able to recover her birth name and date of birth, or her birth certificate, which led to a great deal of difficulty when attempting to prove her identity in a range of circumstances. This has increased her anxiety concerning to applying for aged care support.
Oral History Project
This video is a collection of interviews sharing the perspective of six Forgotten Australians about their thoughts on aged and community care. We acknowledge the Forgotten Australians who participated and shared their stories. Thank you to the Griffith University Film Students for focusing their assessment on this important topic and creating the film.
Share Your Story
By sharing your story, you can help the National Aged and Community Care Roundtable for Forgotten Australians gain insight into the issues that individuals may face within aged and community care. This will aid the National Roundtable to evaluate what needs to be done to protect and improve services for Forgotten Australians. Your story could be used to educate others looking to understand the challenges that Forgotten Australians have faced and continue to face. If you consent to have your story shared on this website, please tick the box at the bottom of this form.
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