It's a story that has been repeated for generations of Aboriginal families in Australia, and it's still happening today. In 2019/20, 952 Aboriginal children across NSW were removed from their families, a 2.6% increase on the year prior.
Why were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children taken from their families? The forcible removal of First Nations children from their families was based on assimilation policies, which claimed that the lives of First Nations people would be improved if they became part of white society.
By 1969, all states had repealed the legislation allowing for the removal of Aboriginal children under the policy of 'protection'.
The Bringing Them Home report (produced by the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families in 1987), says that "at least 100,000" children were removed from their parents.
In NSW and wider Australia, there is a history of First Nations people fighting for land rights. However, while there have been successes, there are a significant number of unprocessed claims in NSW.
Only the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales have a formal claims process. In Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria, Aboriginal land trusts have been established to acquire, manage and use land for the benefit of Aboriginal people.
Infrastructure: $316.6 million in 2021-22, including $269.2 million for the Aboriginal Housing Office.
Around 33 per cent of adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are descendants of Stolen Generations survivors. In Western Australia, this figure is as high as 46 Per cent. Today, Stolen Generations survivors live right across Australia. Most (73%) live in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.
Sixteen Indigenous people died in custody in 2021 – double the previous record in NSW, which was eight deaths in 1998.
In Australia, on average, 48 young people under the age of 18 go missing every day. While First Nations young people make up less than 6% of the Australian population under the age of 18, they comprise around 20% of missing children.
In 2018–19, 8,400 (30.9%) of the estimated 27,200 Stolen Generation survivors aged 50 and over lived in NSW; 5,900 (21.5%) in Queensland; and 4,900 (17.9%) in Western Australia. Most (81%) lived in non-remote locations, which was similar to the distribution of the broader Indigenous population.
In 1915, the Aborigines Protection Amending Act 1915 (NSW) was introduced, this Act gave the Aborigines' Protection Board the authority to remove Aboriginal children without having to establish in court that the children were subject to neglect.
Barriers include inappropriate teaching materials and a lack of Aboriginal role models. Aboriginal education requires connection to communities and informed parents.
Although Indigenous children comprise a relatively small proportion of the Australian child population, they represent more than one-third of the Indigenous population (34%) (ABS 2018c) (Figure 2). The Indigenous population has a much younger age structure than the non-Indigenous population (Figure 2).
There are several factors that help explain the large number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care. Many of these are rooted in past policies of forced removal of children from their homes, which caused inter-generational trauma for many Indigenous communities and resulted in enduring socio-economic disadvantage.
Indigenous people are overrepresented in Canadian criminal courts and far more likely than white people to be convicted and locked up once they come before a judge, according to a recent federal government study.
cancer (20%), with lung cancer being the most common cause of such deaths (4.9% of all deaths) external causes of injury and poisoning (15%) endocrine, metabolic and nutritional disorders (including diabetes) (9.1%)
In NSW, under the Aborigines Protection Act 1909, the NSW Aborigines Welfare Board had wide ranging control over the lives of Aboriginal people, including the power to remove Aboriginal children from their families under a policy of 'assimilation'.
Cultural. Loss of cultural affiliation. Since they were often denied any traditional knowledge, many Stolen Generations members find it difficult to take a role in the cultural and spiritual life of their Aboriginal communities.
There are some amounts don't need to be include as income in your tax return. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and Indigenous holding entities don't need to pay income tax or capital gains tax on native title payments or benefits.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' rights and interests in land are formally recognised over around 50 per cent of Australia's land mass.
In 2022, an estimated 33% of Indigenous Australians (297,400 people) live in New South Wales and 28% (252,700 people) in Queensland (Figure 2). The Northern Territory has the highest proportion of Indigenous residents among its population – an estimated 32% (79,000 people) in 2022 (Figure 2).
The person who holds the most land in this pastoral-lease data, by far, is the Western Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart, who controls 9.2m hectares, or 1.2% of Australia's landmass, through three different corporate entities. The biggest corporate landholder is the ASX-listed Australian Agricultural Company.