The Healing Foundation is proud to announce Commemorative Activities Grants to 15 Stolen Generations organisations across Australia to support critical commemorations and other activities and events as part of their ongoing healing work.
“The 1997 Bringing Them Home report was clear on the vital role of commemoration for Stolen Generations survivors, their descendants and communities, as well as for the broader Australian community,” Healing Foundation CEO Shannan Dodson said.
“We cannot understate the importance for survivors of being able to come together, to remember, to make connections and to heal,” she said.
Grants totalling $230,000 have been awarded to support activities and events across Australia, from healing days, talks, and gatherings.
They range from the Roelands Village Gathering to reconnect survivors, run by the Woolkabunning Kiaka Aboriginal Corporation, south of Perth, to Queensland’s largest Apology anniversary community gathering at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane.
“The first step in healing trauma is often the acknowledgment of truth and the delivery of an apology,” Ms Dodson said.
“These grants acknowledge and honour Stolen Generations organisations, driven by survivors, that tirelessly work to provide much needed services and support to their communities,” Ms Dodson said.
The Commemorative Activities Grants were made possible under a broader $3.5 million two-year package announced in 2024 by the Albanese Labor Government for community-led healing services through The Healing Foundation. The package supports Stolen Generations organisations to deliver Apology, Sorry Day and other commemorative activities, bring survivors from all over the country to the National Apology Breakfast in Canberra and support a range of activities such as wellbeing and cultural healing workshops, on-Country camps and, importantly, the documenting of survivors’ experiences.
Many commemorations focus on the anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations delivered in Parliament on 13 February 2008 by then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and National Sorry Day on 26 May, which was first held in 1998, one year after the Bringing them Home report was tabled in Federal Parliament.
“These events stand as a powerful reminder of the harm done to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the urgent need to address the unfinished business of the Bringing Them Home report,” Ms Dodson said.
“As we mark these events in 2025, The Healing Foundation is urging political parties, governments, churches and other non-government agencies across Australia to work with Stolen Generations organisations, survivors and The Healing Foundation to finally deliver on the outstanding recommendations of the Bringing Them Home report,” she said.
“There is still much to be done, particularly on reparations, rehabilitation and research, records, family tracing and reunions, acknowledgements and apologies, education and training, and monitoring and accountability.”
Recipients of 2025 Commemorative Activities Grants:
- Connecting Home Ltd: co-hosting of events with Link-Up Victoria for up to 200 survivors in Melbourne and Victoria.
- Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Link-Up: healing activity for Stolen Generations members in Alice Springs/Mparntwe.
- Children of the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home Inc: Re-connection initiative for Bomaderry Survivors at Coota Girls/ Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home in Sydney.
- Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation: Stolen Generations Community Gathering at the Royal Botanic Gardens on Gadigal Country in Sydney.
- Kimberley Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation: Open Day for survivors at Broome Convention Centre and Sorry Day event in Broome to ensure the journey of Elders is not forgotten.
- Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation: National Apology Anniversary and Sorry Day events, including lunches in Redfern and Kempsey.
- Link Up Queensland: Queensland’s largest National Apology Day community gathering at Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane and an annual Sorry Day gathering at Cranbrook Place.
- Link Up NSW: National Apology Day event with cultural activities at Mount Druitt Community Hall, and Sorry Day event with Welcome to Country & Smoking Ceremony at Baabayn Emerton.
- Stolen Generation Council NSW/ACT: Sorry Day events across Sydney, Bathurst, and the NSW mid-north coast.
- Northern Territory Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation: Events to host discussions on what Apology Day and Sorry Day mean.
- Nunkuwarrin Yunti: Still Bringing Them Home event honoring the legacy of Colebrook Home.
- Sister Kate’s Home Kids Aboriginal Corporation: Nganyin Healing Day to foster healing and resilience among the Stolen Generations and descendants.
- Woolkabunning Kiaka Aboriginal Corporation (Roelands Village): Gathering to reconnect survivors.
- West Australian Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation / Yokai: National Apology Day and Sorry Day gatherings and commemorative activities at the Stolen Generations Memorial, Wellington Square, Perth City.
- Yorgum Healing Service: Events to mark National Apology Day in Perth, Kalgoorlie, and South Hedland.
See our webpage for a list of Apology Day events here: https://healingfoundation.org.au/apology-2/
