Submission to National Redress and DFFS - Requesting Voluntary Placement Survivors be identified as Careleavers.
Tracie Oldham - Advocate ????
Trauma informed Lived Experience Advocate - Survivor of horrendous Foster Care Abuse - Addiction & Recovery - Multiple Suicide Attempt - C-PTSD
When we talk about Flaws in the Judicial System nobody needs to look much further than the abysmal treatment I have received and how my entire life has been a miscarriage of justice because of an inept government system.
My name is Tracie M. Oldham, and since 1986, I have fought for the rights of all those who have been denied justice, including myself who was placed in Out-of-Home Care where I witnessed firsthand the incompetence of the government authorities after?I was lost and forgotten in the system until no record of my care remained.
My life has been a constant uphill struggle, at times I have been brought to my knees feeling cursed.
My informal Foster Carers and the authorities have never been made to answer for their negligent behaviour, and the horrible crimes they did against me have never been prosecuted.
In an effort to raise attention to my campaign to get Adult Survivors who were placed in Voluntary Placement as children formally registered as Careleavers, I have been calling and emailing politicians and Careleaver organisations and making to the National Redress and the Criminal Justice Inquiry and Mental Health Commission all to no avail.
?My name is Tracie Oldham, and I was placed in Out-of-Home Care where I witnessed firsthand the incompetence of the government authorities after?I was lost and forgotten in the system until no record of my care remained.
?Both the authorities and Out-of-Home carers have never been held accountable for their negligence, and the heinous crimes committed against me have gone unpunished.
SUBMISSION
My purpose in writing this submission is to represent all Survivors of Voluntary Placement Care who were put in long-term ‘Voluntary or Informal Care’ with the knowledge of relevant government authorities, and subsequently neglected, abused sexually, physically, and psychologically.
I am asking the National Redress and the Australian Government to grant all victims’ rights and take responsibility for these abuses in a legal manner, similar to ‘wards of the state’ because as the law stands we do NOT qualify for the National Redress OR Open Place (Relationships Australia) OR recognized as Forgotten Australians.
**I include pertinent passages from Victorian statutes in my Submission to bolster my case for Voluntary Placement Survivors.
- The constant contradictions in the Out of Home guidelines' description of a “Careleaver”?caught everyone's attention which also included the DFFH Policy from February 2021, which describes in detail.
? - Someone who was placed for some or all of their childhood or youth in institutional or " Out-of-Home Care" is a Careleaver
·??????? 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.
?Private, Informal or Non-Statutory Kinship Care are terms which may be used to describe arrangements where children are cared for by relatives without any Child Protection intervention.
?A Child Voluntary Placed (Not Formally Fostered) was referred to as a:
?·?????? Private Placement
·?????? Voluntary Admission
·?????? Boarding Out
·?????? Informal Foster Care
·?????? Informal Kinship Care
·?????? Voluntary Wards
·?????? Non –Wards
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.
?**A Child Voluntary Placed (Not Formally Fostered) was referred to as a:
?·?????? Private Placement
·?????? Voluntary Admission
·?????? Boarding Out
·?????? Informal Foster Care
·?????? Informal Kinship Care
·?????? Voluntary Wards
·?????? Non –Wards
·?????? 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.
·?????? Because we were Not legally 'Wards of the State', we have No records except for admission data [Submission No. 6].
?Committee of Enquiry into Child Care Services?(1975?-?1976) - ?Committee of Enquiry into Child Care Services - Summary | Find & Connect (findandconnect.gov.au)
?The Enquiry into Child Care Services in Victoria was announced by Premier R.J. Hamer in December 1974. Its final report, from June 1976, is often referred to as 'the Norgard Report' (after the Committee Chairman, Mr. J.D. Norgard).
- The Enquiry led the Committee to a two-fold conclusion: - 'not only is there a disconcerting degree of malfunction in many aspects of the child welfare system, but the system itself is in many ways inappropriate for contemporary society'.
?The Norgard Report called for a 'fundamental revision and re-organisations of Victoria's child and family welfare system. - Its recommendations framed the basis of the 1978 White Paper 'The future of social welfare in Victoria'.
?The Norgard Report described Victoria's child and family welfare system as 'inappropriate to contemporary society': - In 1975 in Norgard Report the Committee recommended mandatory reviews of children in care to prevent children from becoming “Lost in the System”.
?Full Norgard Report link. - needs to be accessed through the library.
?2003 - SUBMISSION BY THE GOVERNMENT OF VICTORIA TO THE SENATE INQUIRY IN CHILDREN IN INSTITUTIONAL CARE.
?FORGOTTEN AUSTRALIANS:
Forgotten Australians or Care Leavers are terms referring to the estimated 500,000 children (a figure that includes child migrants and Indigenous Australians) who experienced Care in Institutions or Outside a home setting in Australia during the 20th century.
?NUMBERS OF CHILDREN IN CARE:
?From 1928 up to the 1970s there were large numbers of children placed in care voluntarily by their parents who did not subsequently become state wards.
??The available sources of historical information about the numbers of children in care are not always consistent with each other
?·?????? This is partly because the ways in which children were counted changed over time due to changes in legislation and practice, and partly because reporting practices changed.?
?·?????? In the period from 1949 to 1954 there were at least 1,900 children in children's homes who were NOT Wards at any one time, compared to 1,100 State Wards in the same children's homes.
?·?????? It is not known how many of these 1,900 children went on to become State Wards
?·?????? As a result, it cannot be estimated how many such children need to be added to the 59,000 children known to have become State Wards.
?·?????? ?Conservative estimates would be in the region of 17,000 between 1928 and 1970
?·?????? (i.e., an average of about 400 new Voluntary Placements per year), although the number may have been much higher
????1960`s VOLUNTARY PLACEMENTS:
??It is thought that Voluntary Placements declined in the 1960s and more or less ended after the introduction of the supporting parents benefits and other welfare and social changes in the 1970s.
?·?????? ?Children are still placed in Voluntary Foster Care (Not Formally Fostered) by their parents without any State involvement in the arrangement, but this is generally for respite or short-term placement during times of family difficulty, for example where a parent requires medical treatment in a hospital.
?The Victorian government is aware that Non- Wards of State were placed in a Voluntary Placement (Not Formally Fostered) environment with no accountability - however No accountability was actioned, this was to the detriment of children.
?SUBMISSION BY ACWA KINDSHIP CARE - ?- KINDSHIP CARE IN AUSTRALIA:
?The United Nations defines kinship care as ‘family-based care within the child’s extended family or with close friends of the family known to the child, whether formal or informal in nature’ (United Nations, 2010, p.6).
?This submission addresses issues for children in informal and statutory (formal) kinship care in Australia.
·?????? Feedback is provided in relation to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Concluding Observations 28 August 2012.
?Periodically review placements as required under article 25 of the Convention and in doing so to pay particular attention to signs of maltreatment of children; Children in informal kinship care Unlike in the UK, there is no requirement to register informal care arrangements within an extended family or friendship network, even if extended in nature, and therefore there is no mechanism for oversight of such care arrangements.
?The only means available to evaluate the wellbeing of children in informal kinship care would be to report the number of such children who subsequently come to the attention of child protection services due to abuse or neglect in care.
?·?????? To date no such reports have been published.
?Informal kinship carers receive No support apart from what they can obtain themselves from universal services or fee-for-service providers of mainstream services.
?·?????? A minority of statutory kinship carers receive active support from child protection or an NGO kinship care support service.
?CONTRADICTION: ??- My aunt received Child Endowment until my sixteenth birthday, a day I will never forget because instead of wishing me a Happy Sweet Sixteen, I received a hard slap across the face because she was no longer going to receive money for my care.
?·?????? Question: If Informal Kinship Carers receive NO Assistance. Then Why did my aunt who was Not my legal guardian receive Child Endowment?
?ACCORDING TO AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SOCIAL SERVICES:
The term Care Leavers is used in this context to refer to both Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants, in the understanding that this terminology is disputed.
?Care Leavers, refers to children who were placed in institutional and other forms of Out-of-Home care through the last century (up until the end of 1989)
?Appendix 5 - Statistics on Children in Institutional Care
The Victorian Government’s submission to the inquiry estimated that more than 100,000 children were placed in care in Victoria between 1928 and 2003.
?? 5.7: ?Combining the number of state wards (59 000) with those voluntarily placed children who were never made wards, estimated conservatively at 17 000 between 1928 and 1970
·?????? (i.e., an average of 400 new voluntary placements per year) plus detained young people, estimated at 15 000, totals 91 000 children in institutional care in Victoria from 1928-2003.
?In addition, some children were placed in short-term care by the child protection system who never became wards, and some young offenders were remanded in detention, many of whom would only have been in institutional care for a few days or weeks.
·??????? Including these children and young people brings the total to over 100 000. [781]
?Source: Appendix 5 - Statistics on children in institutional care – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au)
?2018 - National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional?Child Sexual Abuse Canberra
In 2018, the former Prime Minister, Scott Morrison MP, delivered the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse. – The National Apology acknowledged and apologised for the appalling abuse endured by vulnerable children, including current generations, by the very people who were supposed to care for them, leaving immeasurable and lasting damage.
?MY EXPERIENCE –
Despite Not having been a victim of institutional abuse, I applied for the ballot because I believed we had a right to?attend being victims of abuse ourselves?and I was shocked when I was selected.? As I sat there and listened to the prime minister, unreservedly apologise to the victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. And how he finally admitted that - “For too many years our eyes and hearts were closed to the truths we were told by children. He went on to say that, we apologise for the pain, suffering and trauma inflicted upon victims and survivors as children, and for its profound and ongoing impact”.
I recall the disappointment I felt hearing him say that – “As children, you deserved care and protection. Instead, the very people and institutions entrusted with your care failed you. You suffered appalling physical and mental abuse, and endured horrific sexual crimes.”
I can still clearly recall how deeply offended and all too familiar it felt to be ignored when survivors of Voluntary Placements?were left out of the Apology. I was filled with a deep sense of sadness as I listened to the Prime Minister apologise to the victims of institutional abuse. I realised that my horrific abuse and the trauma endured by countless Voluntary Placement Survivors was deemed so insignificant that it was completely ignored, and I had never felt more invisible or alone and invalidated.
I was struggling with the hypocrisy of how the Prime Minister said “Today, we say we are sorry. Sorry that you were not protected, sorry that you were not listened to. We are sorry for refusing to trust the words of children, for not believing you. - “As we say sorry, we also say we believe you. We say what happened was not your fault. We are sorry that perpetrators of abuse were relocated and shielded rather than held to account, that records have been withheld and destroyed, and accountability avoided. - We are sorry that the justice and child welfare systems that should have protected you, were at times used to perpetrate yet more injustices against you. - We apologise for the lifelong impacts this abuse has had on your health, your relationships, and your ability to live life to its full potential.
NO APOLOGY FOR VOLUNTARY PLACEMENT SURVIVORS
Where was the apology for the tens of thousands of victims who were abandoned and forgotten in the system while suffering the most heinous torture a child could face at the hands of informal foster carers?
·?????? Before I left, I signed the Survivor guest book these were my words - “Today I wear black in mourning for my lost childhood”.
?**NO MEMORIAL FOR VOLUNTARY PLACEMENT SURVIVORS
Following our exclusion from the National Apology, which was demoralising and humiliating, we were also?denied inclusion in the National Memorial for Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse which was erected for victims, survivors, their families and friends.
·?????? The Memorial acknowledges the experiences of victims and survivors. It will recognise the courage of those who have fought for justice. - It honours lives lost and those whose voices were not heard.
领英推荐
Again, I Reiterate:
- We were taken out of our homes permanently, never to return. We were abandoned?and forgotten in the system as a result of an inept?government?that failed to protect us. Left to be brutalised at the hands of our carers, however our abusers received the child endowment payments the government gave them without any duty of care or proof of the child’s identity- like l say “lost in the system” that was broken.
So, I Ask You: ?When will we get an Apology for all the pain and heartache we have endured. When will we have a memorial erected in honour for all the “Private Placement Survivors” past and present.
?HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO:?
I want you to picture yourselves in a courtroom, where I'm the prosecutor and the government is testifying.
-? I have three questions for the government representative.
?Question 1: - Did the government know Tracie was in Temporary care as a baby.
Witness Response: ?- YES
Question 2: - Having a written document from the court stating Tracie was to be returned back to her mother
·?????? Did any government authorities follow up on Tracie’s whereabouts & welfare?.
Witness Response: ?- NO
Question 3: - Did any government authority at any stage try to check on Tracie’s welfare knowing she was a neglected child
Witness Response: ?- NO
?My Closing Argument:
Therefore, I argue that by failing to follow up on an infant placed in temporary informal foster care, the government authorities deliberately ignored this child. In doing so, they violated their legal obligation to keep the child safe by allowing her to become lost and forgotten in the system.
The Victorian and Australian government both?knew about children who were Voluntarily Placed in the care of informal foster parents, and owing to evident complacency they failed these children abysmally.?I dare anyone reading this to argue that.
Even though crimes were perpetrated against us when we were in the care of informal foster carers, because voluntary placement is not regarded as Careleavers, we are not eligible for the same rights as state-?wards.
Voluntary Placement Survivors should NOT be excluded from accessing the same services as Forgotten Australians.
**PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF BEING VOLUNTARY PLACED
?My name is Tracie M. Oldham, and I am one of thousands of a children who were Informally Placed in Foster Care with NO formal paperwork shunted between families until eventually I was "Lost in the System".?
?I have been a Lived Experience Survivor Advocate since 1986 advocating for the rights of all those who have been denied justice, including myself. I have spent countless years contacting Members of Parliament, Senators and organisations trying to draw attention to my campaign to have adult survivors who were placed in Voluntary Placement as children officially recognised as Careleavers because and as such.
?·?????? Currently we have NO Rights despite living in Out of Home Care permanently, we are not afforded the same respect and rights and privileges as State Wards
?MY APPALLING STORY OF INJUSTICE:
?I was Voluntary Placed with sadistic people from two weeks old, but I was not the only child to given away by my mother, both my sister and brother were sent to live with their grandmother and aunty to be raised because of the toxic relationship between my parents.
?My mother hated my father and resented?his children. You can only imagine how shocked she was to learn she was pregnant with?me.?Given that abortion was illegal, my mother made two attempts at self-abortion, which made it apparent she had never wanted me.?
?Much to her disgust, I was born just for her to reject me and punish me for being born and she couldn’t wait to be rid of me.
?**The Divorce and Custody was settled the same day
?My parents divorced in 1964 when I was two years old and I had already been Voluntary Placed in Informal Foster Care since I was two weeks old.
?**According to the Victorian Supreme Courts Welfare document - ?
?I was placed in Temporary Care and was expected to return to my mother's home as soon as she settled in.
?·?????? There were No subsequent follow ups by authorities to check on welfare.
?·?????? I was shunted back and forth between sadistic families with No Follow Up
?·?????? I Never went back to live with my mother again.
?I was abandoned by the government and?left?in the Care of sadistic Informal Foster Carers.
?·?????? Sexually molested as a baby
·?????? Neglected
·?????? Battered
·?????? Raped daily beginning when I was seven years old.
·?????? Brutalized
·?????? Attempts to kill me.
·?????? Subjected to internal vaginal inspections daily.
·?????? Subjected to horrific mental and physical abuse up until I was sixteen years old.
?I have reached out to the following organisations for support but sadly rejected as l do not fit the eligibility criteria.
?Voluntary Placement Survivors have always been overshadowed by Institutionalised State Wards who have received all the attention and?publicity, even though we lived in permanent out-of-home care and experienced the same horrific abuse, if not worse at times.
Despite the unfathomable?mistreatment we endured at the hands of our cruel guardians, for some reason we have never been accorded the same respect, rights, or benefits as State Wards. - Every adult I've interacted with, including government officials, has let me down with their lack of concern and complacency. It took me close to fifty years to really start thinking about my past and search for the truth.
OPENPLACE REJECTION – (Relationship Australia)
I applied to join Open Place as a Forgotten Australian. I submitted the search forms, and after receiving a welcome package, I at last had a sense of belonging, even though I had mixed emotions about being called a Forgotten Australian.
Two years went by, and I had not heard back from them. I emailed Open Place (again) after waiting two years for a response, and in 2020, Relationships Australia—which has since taken over Open Place—finally responded.
Thank you for your email, - Looking back at notes, unfortunately, it appears that DHHS could NOT confirm a record of time in care for you, therefore it was we were not able to register you for support and services with Open Place. ?This is due to the eligibility criteria for Open Place in the funding agreement, which requires confirmation that a person entered care before the end of 1989.?
·?????? It looks like an application was made to the Care Leaver Records Service at DHHS for a search of records in their archives to try to establish this; however, a record was NOT located.
?·?????? ?We acknowledge that sending a Welcome Pack for Open Place before this eligibility criterion was confirmed was confusing and we apologise for the upset this has caused Tracie, and we do sincerely regret that the Open Place service can NOT offer support and assistance to you and any others who just fall outside of this eligibility.
My Reply Email:
To say I am disappointed is an understatement I just don’t fit in anywhere. I was put into temporary voluntary placement with the Supreme courts Knowledge then moved from family to family until all record of me was lost.
·?????? My mother gave me away to be cared for by anyone as long as it wasn’t her - I never lived with her again.
?FREEDOM OF INFORMATION – NIL RECORDS.
I requested the release of all my childhood records through Freedom of Information, but after months of thorough searching, FOI informed me that there were no records related to my care arrangements.
·??????? They suspect I was in Voluntary Placement with no formal arrangements.
?NATIONAL REDRESS DEBACLE:
?When we talk about Flaws in the Judicial System nobody needs to look much further than the abysmal treatment I have received and how my entire life has been a miscarriage of justice because of an inept system where I experienced appalling treatment?from those that we should be able to put our trust in.
I contacted the National Redress, made an appointment then had a lengthy interview with them - I went through the entire lengthy process. I was very honest and told them that I was Not a Ward of the State and was Voluntary Placed in Care with NO formal childhood records but they sent me a list of lawyers that specialised in “Child Abuse cases” anyway.
?A copy of the meeting was sent to me via email, and when I opened my report from the two-hour interview, I was shocked to discover that everything I had said was recorded wrong. I called National Redress and informed them that the information in my report was incorrect. I also asked as to whether the interviewer had actually heard anything I had said, since it was disgusting to have so many vital details wrong.
?-? They emailed me a copy of the amended claim, along with a list of lawyers I could get in touch with to get legal?advice.
?**GREEDY LAWYERS
?So, I called one of Melbourne's biggest law companies on the list. I spoke with a solicitor in-depth, sent all the necessary paperwork, and was informed that I had an extremely powerful case. -? As time passed, I still had not received a reply from the solicitor.
?Tired of waiting, I phoned the law firm to ask why they hadn't responded. - The solicitor answered, "We acknowledged your terrible childhood rape?and torture," but added that as you are NOT a State Ward and have no paperwork pertaining to your Out of Home Care there is nothing in for us. - YEP. - He actually said it.
?2nd Major Law Firm Rejection:
?Despite feeling quite discouraged, I reluctantly?contacted yet another prominent law firm and was given the same response.
?·?????? We won't take cases unless the offender has assets that’s why we focus on "Institutional Abuse Cases". - To say I was disgusted is an understatement.
**NO JUSTICE FOR THE POOR
The horrific crimes against me have gone unpunished, and neither the government authorities nor the out-of-home carers who brutalised me?have ever faced consequences for their negligence.
The idea that the rich and the poor should be treated equally is the foundation of the legal system. That may have been the case in the past, but today, access to justice is determined by how much money the law firm stands to make. I was soon to find out that there is NO JUSTICE for the poor. (Unless you’re a Sate Ward that is)
I informed National Redress over the phone that I had been turned down, they promised me everything would be alright and scheduled a time for someone to call me back. I spoke with someone again a week later, this time sharing my disappointment with the decision and what the solicitors had told me.
I was met with a very cold and callous reaction from the National Redress representative who informed me that I do NOT qualify as I was NOT a ward of the State I do NOT qualify.
?Why, after all, would the National Redress let me to proceed with the entire procedure when they knew I was not a state ward? Why did they raise my hopes only to lower them again?
?SOCIT (Vicpol): (Sexual Offences and Child-abuse Investigation Team)
Being rejected by two prestigious legal firms did not surprise me because I was used to having all those who I had placed faith in let me down.? So, I reluctantly took other survivors' advice and went to the SOCIT police to make a historical charges statement against my perpetuator because I was determined to get justice for all the injustice I had endured throughout my life. -? My case was inexplicably dropped after 18 long months of frequent delays, either because of constant time off work for holidays, Covid, or the handover of an investigator who was completely incompetent.
?LET DOWN BY THE SYSTEM ONCE AGAIN
??Despite witness statements?and the perpetrator being a known offender, I was denied justice due to my rapist's lack of finances and assets, going to court was not an option, so I was denied my day in court.
?The emotional impact of being let down by SOCIT was enormous. I never really recovered from the disappointment I experienced at the hands of the Fawkner police when I was thirteen years old, and now, fifty years later, I was let down by them yet again for the same complaint.
I have repeatedly emailed the Senior Sergeant asking for my case to be re-opened I received ONE reply in 2022 informing me it would be looked into and have NEVER heard back again despite numerous follow up emails.
?MY INVOLVEMENT CALLING FOR CHANGE:
Having never received justice and probably not living to see my offender convicted, this has just made me more determined to help others fight for the justice they were denied by helping?implement?change.
·?????? Victorian Law Reform Commission’s report: Improving the Justice System Response to Sexual Offences - (submission no: 004)
?·?????? National Mental Health Commission?Submission
?·?????? Consultation meeting on how the law should treat publicly identifying deceased victims of sexual offences Judicial Proceedings Reports Act reform
?·?????? First National Redress Scheme - (Submission No: 55)
?·?????? Second National Redress Scheme (Submission No: 33)
?·?????? The response of the justice system to sexual offences: Engage Victoria Submission
?·?????? Tabling Victoria`s Criminal Justice Inquiry Report – with Former Members of Parliament Tania Maxwell & Fiona Patten
?**WHY DOES IT MATTER?
I am often asked why I continue to push for Survivors of Voluntary Placement to be recognised as Careleavers when it is clear that no one is interested. I can only respond, "because I Care," as do the thousands of other Voluntary Placement survivors.
- ?Survivors who would become the "Invisible Generation"— those who were abandoned by their parents, shunted between unofficial sadistic foster families until eventually they were lost and forgotten because there was “No formal paperwork” to support our time in Out of Home Care
??Think back to when you were younger and all the precious memories you have — these are memories we shall never have. ?- Instead, I have spent my entire life struggling to overcome psychological scars from a cruel and traumatising childhood. - That is what I remember.
?**WE ARE NOT A MINORITY - - When is our Voice going to Heard and our Identity Recognised.
?It should?NOT?matter if the Abuser was a Family Member or a Member of an Institution, the fact remains that the?Victorian Government was Derelict in its Duty of Care?to protect us and left us to the mercy of perverted family carers.