SYDNEY—Seventeen years after the New South Wales government apologised to the “Forgotten Australians,” survivors of a system that removed more than 500,000 children from their families are calling for greater recognition of what they endured.
“Forgotten Australians” spent time as children in institutional or other forms of out-of-home care during the 20th century, with the term coined following a landmark 2004 Senate inquiry.
Some survivors and advocates now use the term “Remembered Australians” to emphasise that their experiences should no longer be forgotten.
Daryl Higgins, survivor and Vice Chair of the Alliance for Forgotten Australians in Sydney on Sept. 19, 2026. Jessie Zhang/The Epoch Times
Survivors gathered at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens on Sept. 19, where NSW Families Minister Kate Washington attended on behalf of Premier Chris Minns. City of Sydney representative Adam Worling also attended on behalf of Lord Mayor Clover Moore.
The gathering took place at the site where then-Premier Nathan Rees delivered the NSW apology in 2009, acknowledging the mistreatment suffered by children entrusted to governments, orphanages, churches, charities, and other institutions.
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From ‘Forgotten’ to ‘Remembered’
Among those attending was Remembered Australians CEO Ray Leary, who was taken from his mother at 18 months old and placed in the child welfare system.
Leary said that rather than finding safety, he was exposed to institutional abuse and violence.
“Too long we’ve been forgotten. It’s time to be recognised, time to be re-acknowledged in schools and universities and to be educated upon what Australia has done to 500,000 children,” Leary said.
Leary, who has advocated on the issue since 2012, is asking for a more substantial permanent memorial to Forgotten Australians, to honour those who died without seeing greater recognition.
The existing memorial was unveiled in the Royal Botanic Gardens when Rees delivered the state apology on Sept. 19, 2009.
Minister Washington acknowledged the request during her speech and said she would raise the proposal with Premier Minns.
“I’m hearing the ask, and of course I’ll be raising that with the premier as well,” she said.
The City of Sydney is also examining the proposal, with Worling telling survivors their request for a permanent memorial was “currently under consideration and investigation by the city.”
The Forgotten Australian Memorial Plaque in Sydney is located in a quiet, secluded corner between the Two Ponds in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Courtesy of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Survivors Seek Practical Support
For survivor Lorraine Puckeridge, recognition and memorials are only part of what is needed.
Puckeridge said she was taken from her family at four years old and spent time in three children’s homes and other institutional placements.
She argues that financial redress is insufficient because it cannot quantify the impact of sexual assault or provide long-term security for future generations.
She said governments should address the long-term consequences of childhood institutionalisation through housing, healthcare, education, and job programs.
At the core, she expressed the importance of consulting survivors directly on policies affecting them.
“For too long we’ve been spoken for and about, but we’ve not been brought into the room to have that conversation,” Puckeridge told The Epoch Times.
‘No Memorial Undoes the Harm’
The NSW apology came after years of parliamentary investigations into the experiences of children placed in institutional and out-of-home care.
Three Senate inquiries between 2001 and 2009 documented experiences including neglect, exploitation, physical and sexual abuse, loss of family connections, and inadequate education.
Two months after the NSW apology, then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a national apology to Forgotten Australians and former child migrants at Parliament House on Nov. 16, 2009.
Washington said the abuses represented a failure by the institutions responsible for protecting vulnerable children.
“What happened to them was wrong. It was entirely unjustifiable, and it should never have happened,” she said.
“No memorial undoes the harm.”
