In line with the recent analysis of Bringing Them Home recommendations that shows only six percent have been clearly implemented – nearly 30 years later – The Healing Foundation has called for a comprehensive national healing package in our 2025-26 Pre-budget submission.
As our recent report, Are you waiting for us to die? The unfinished business of Bringing Them Home has shown that only five of the original 83 recommendations made in Bringing Them Home have been implemented. It calls for action across six areas: reparations; rehabilitation and research; records; family tracing and reunions; acknowledgement and apologies; education and training, and monitoring and accountability.
Building on these recommendations, the budget submission makes an urgent call for strategic investment in key sectors to ensure Stolen Generations survivors have their complex and ageing needs met. We need urgent action to ensure all survivors have access to a trauma-informed, culturally safe, and comprehensive redress scheme, particularly in Western Australia and Queensland where there has been no compensation for Stolen Generations survivors.
Critical action is needed in the aged care sector, where survivors must be able to access safe and fully subsidised services, with community-controlled organisations supported to become service providers.
Access to records remains a critical issue, as with no prioritised access for survivors, there remains ongoing barriers and inconsistencies, and no protective measures to ensure access to private collections.
The Stolen Generations Organisation sector operates currently under inconsistent funding, despite providing critical, holistic, survivor-centered services. These organisations must be supported with sustainable core funding, workforce development, and capacity building, so that they can continue to provide expanded services in critical areas.
Finally, the government must ensure appropriate monitoring and accountability measures are in place to oversee the implementation of the outstanding recommendations.
Survivors cannot continue waiting for action. They cannot wait another generation.
Read the full budget submission here.
Read the full Are you waiting for us to die? The unfinished business of Bringing Them Home’ report here
