There are more than one million paper-based historical records that document children, young people or adults who spent time in Victorian government and non-government orphanages, homes and institutions. Some of these records date back 150 years.
These records include information about:
- Former ‘wards of the state’, which described a child or young person under the state's guardianship until 1988. When a person left ‘care’, they were referred to as a ‘Care Leaver’.
- Forgotten Australians, which is a term preferred by many of the more than 500,000 Australians and child migrants who experienced out-of-home care in Australia from 1930 to 1970.
- Stolen Generations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who, as children, were forcibly removed or separated from their families, communities, traditional culture, and country.
- Mental health care for children and adults in hospitals and mental health clinics.
On this website, we use the term ‘Care Leavers’ for any person placed for some or all their childhood or youth in government or non-government institutions.
Records and collection guides
Between 2013 and 2017 a major project was undertaken to sort and index more than 88,000 boxes of historical records. They were appraised and catalogued by professional archivists to make records easier to find. The archivists created guides to describe the records collected for individual institutions and agencies. It is these guides that can help you start your search for personal, or family members’ records.
This website has more than 200 collection guides.
Your records
You may have tried to find your records in the past without success. Before digital technologies, all records were paper based. Until 1973, Victorian laws did not clearly state what records needed to be saved. Each organisation decided what to record and unfortunately some institutions culled or destroyed older files, especially records of people who had left the institution.
In the 1980 and 1990s as institutions closed, they sent their remaining records to departments for safekeeping. Many of the records had no content lists or clear organisation systems. As a result, early Freedom of Information requests were often unsuccessful because staff couldn’t find people’s records.
However since 2012, more than one million historical paper-based care leavers’ records have been professionally archived. They are now at the Public Record Office Victoria or stored securely and are much easier to search for and locate.
If a person has spent time in more than one institution, they may have more than one record. Unfortunately, it’s also possible that some records were not kept by institutions and either lost or destroyed.
Because these are historical records, they may have language and ideas that might today be considered insensitive, discriminatory or offensive. We understand these records could be distressing for you to read and we encourage you to seek help if you feel you need it.
Freedom of information
Your information, or records, are private. Only you or someone who has your permission can ask for your records. If you are a family member seeking information about a relative who is deceased, you can seek access to records too.
When you seek to find a record, you must lodge a Freedom of Information request. This request may be sent to one or more Victorian government departments. For example, the Department of Health is responsible for any historical health records. More information on how to apply for your records is available on our using the guides page.
Finding Records website
This website is managed by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. If you have any queries about the website, please contact us.
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