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Submission - Requesting Adults Who Were in Voluntary Placement Care to Be Finally Recognized As Careleavers

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Submission - Requesting Adults Who Were in Voluntary Placement Care to Be Finally Recognized As Careleavers Page | 1 Tracie M. Oldham Submission - Requesting Adults who were in Voluntary Placement Care to be finally recognized as Careleavers I am writing this submission in a bid to have Adults who were in Voluntary Placement Care recognized as Careleavers because as the law stands we do NOT qualify for the National Redress. I did apply as for the National Redress, and went through the process. I was interviewed at great length and felt satisfied that I met the criteria. I was then sent a letter from the National Redress with a copy my claim. When I read my report I was gobsmacked, it was ALL wrong … I rang the National Redress and told them that it was wrong and asked if the person who interviewed actually listened to me as this was a disgrace to get so many details wrong. - They corrected my claim and sent me a copy along with a list of lawyers to contact to help me. I first contacted Legal, I spoke to a solicitor at length, sent in all the relevant documents as requested and they replied back that they believed I had a powerful case. That was until they realised, I was NOT a Ward of the State. They acknowledged my childhood rape and torture were terrible but unless my rapist had money, they wouldn't take the case as there was NOTHING in it for them. Feeling despondent reluctantly I approached Law firm and again ran into the same problem. Unfortunately, adults who were in Voluntary Placement do NOT have any rights and are denied justice. I rang the the National Redress told them I had been rejected, they reassured me it would be fine, made an appointment for someone to ring me back. A week later I spoke someone and I told them again what the solicitors had said to me and how disappointed I was with the outcome. The response I got from the National Redress rep was uncaring and cold to say the least. After hearing the solicitors had rejected me he then then informed me that I do NOT qualify as I was NOT a ward of the State I do NOT qualify. WHY, did the National Redress let me go through the whole process knowing I was NOT a ward of the State? Why, did they build up my hopes only to dash them ? Page | 2 It shouldn't hurt to be a child and adult survivors shouldn't have to live with that hurt and a child shouldn’t have to carry that hurt into adulthood. But sadly, We Do... Tracie - This is some of My Story My story is one of a profoundly Sad Displaced Child who was LOST in the system and left in the care of sadistic sexual predators and psychologically unbalanced carers who raped and tortured from infancy. Unfortunately ,due to years of being subjected to horrific abuse I developed Battered Child Syndrome, Complex Trauma, C- PTSD, , Major Depression, and Borderline Personality and have survived several suicide attempts the last being in 2010. When I look back, at my life the only consistent memory I have is of being constantly told by my carers that I was hated, unwanted, and a burden. It was made very clear that I had NO Rights or Protection. All my life I was looked down on as I was an unwanted 'Ward of the State'., having lived with that stigma my whole life I finally felt I was ready to confront my past, so I applied to Freedom of Information to release all my childhood documents pertaining to my Ward Ship. - After months of extensive searching, the results came back “Nil Documents Found. - FOI found NO record pertaining to my Care arrangements, I did NOT exist. The only explanation they could offer was that I was probably put into “Voluntary Placement” and lost in the system as were tens of thousands of other children. VOLUNTARY PLACEMENT EXPLAINED Voluntary Placement is where NO Court Order is required for a child to live out of their parent's care. - The parent consents to a Voluntary arrangement for the temporary care of their child but had NOT been made a Ward. The term 'Voluntary Placements' was used to describe children who were in 'Care' but had NOT been made a Ward of the State under Victorian child welfare legislation. - A child in such a situation was sometimes referred to as a ’Voluntary Ward'. Such children were often placed in Homes by their parents during times of hardship or crisis, and often only for short-term stays. People who came into 'Care' in Victoria under such 'Voluntary' arrangements can experience particular difficulties in locating and accessing records. In its submission to the Forgotten Australians inquiry, the Victorian Government stated that between 1928-1970s there were large numbers of children placed in care voluntarily by their parents, who did NOT become Victorian state wards. Page | 3 Children who were placed in the system under Private or Voluntary arrangements left a different trace in the records and archives. - The lesser government intervention and oversight of these arrangements usually meant that fewer records were created or kept. "Tierney observed in 1963 that the Children's Welfare Department had accurate lists of all state wards but little reliable information about children based on a voluntary basis." The 'Forgotten Australians' report (2004) noted that 'Non-Wards' experienced particular difficulties in their search for records about their time in care. Because we were not legally 'Wards of the State', we have NO records except for admission data [Submission No. 6]. Because of this paucity of records, 'Non-Wards' was described in the Report as 'largely invisible' to the state authorities in Victoria. (Findandconnect.gov.au) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- So, how Do Government Authorities Lose a Child? My mother placed me in Temporary Voluntary Care with the Victorian Supreme Courts' knowledge, yet, there were no follow-up appointments checking on my welfare or location. With NO government intervention, I was shunted back and forwards between foster families where I would endure the vilest and sadistic sexual and physical abuse. - I was sexually molested from infancy, neglected, battered, and raped daily from seven years old, brutalized, and mentally abused till I was a teenager the cruelty inflicted on me was incomprehensible. Disclosure to Adults Over the years I told my extended family, teachers, doctors, and even the police how I was being hurt yet they did nothing to help me. - When I was thirteen I couldn’t take it anymore so I ran away, the next day my friend's mother reported my whereabouts and the police took me back to the old Fawkner police station, where I sobbed and begged the Senior Sergeant not to send me back. I explained my abuse in graphic detail - He ignored me, and I was sent back to live with my abusers. - - - The Fawkner Police let me down - if a child couldn't rely on the police to protect her, who could she rely on? - Little did I realize that many years later (2020) I would feel let down by Fawkner SOCIT again and be denied justice. My life has been defined by ALL the physical and Sexual Abuse I had to endure, I was let down by Every Government Authority I came into contact with. - So at the tender age of thirteen years old I had to admit defeat, I had to accept the cold harsh truth, I was on my own - Always had been and always will be. Page | 4 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse In 2012, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was established in response to allegations of sexual abuse of children in institutional contexts that had been emerging in Australia for many years. The Victorian Government is committed to providing ongoing support to Pre-1990 Care Leavers to address the impact of past practices. - All focus was on Institutionalized State Wards while Voluntary Placement Survivors were disregarded. Voluntary Placement Abuse Survivors have NO Rights · - We do NOT qualify for the National Redress · - We can NOT be called Forgotten Australians · - Law firms will NOT represent as we have no childhood records - We are the “Invisible Generation. The Victorian Government was derelict in their Duty of Care failing to protect countless Voluntarily Placed children who because of their negligence were lost in the system and left to unmentionable cruelty Government Apologies for past Experiences 2006 - The then Premier, Steve Bracks, issued a formal statement of acknowledgement and apology to ‘Forgotten Australians’ for past practices in Victoria and the enduring detrimental effect their care experience has had on their lives. 2008 - The Prime Minister made a formal apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples, particularly to the Stolen Generations 2009 - The then Prime Minister of Australia, Hon Kevin Rudd, issued a formal statement of acknowledgement and apology, on behalf of the nation, to ‘Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants’ for the abuse and neglect suffered by many children in institutional or other out-of-home care during the last century across Australia. 2010 - A ‘Forgotten Australians’ memorial was unveiled on 25 October 2010 at Southbank, Victoria as a lasting recognition of the experiences of Pre-1990 Care Leavers. 2013 - The Prime Minister apologized to the people affected by Forced adoption or removal policies and practices 2017 - Royal Commission established into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual 2017 - The National Redress Scheme does NOT cover Non-Institutional Abuse, by a family Page | 5 2018 - The Prime Minister delivered the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse.
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