Mothers affected by historical forced adoption practices will be eligible for financial payments and counselling support under a new redress scheme the Tasmanian government says will be the best of its kind in Australia.
The scheme will cover practices that took place between 1950 and 1988, when unmarried mothers were forced into giving up their babies because of the social stigma surrounding pregnancy outside marriage.
It is estimated more than 11,000 forced adoptions occurred in Tasmania during this time, part of around 150,000 adoptions across Australia between 1951 and 1975.
Many women were sent to maternity homes and had their babies taken immediately after birth.
Some were coerced, drugged or had their consent illegally obtained by doctors, nurses, social workers and religious figures.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the historical practices caused significant pain and suffering for many women.
“I want to recognise all those who have been affected by these practices,” Rockliff said.
“To the mothers who were affected by these practices all those decades ago, we are immensely sorry.”
The announcement follows a 2012 apology from Tasmania’s House of Assembly, which was backed by all parties after an inquiry into adoption services.
Rockliff said the scheme would ensure affected mothers did not need to navigate adversarial legal processes to access support.
“Our government is committed to ensuring affected mothers have access to financial assistance and support and the establishment of a redress scheme will ensure that they do not need to go through adversarial court processes to do so,” he said.
Attorney-General Guy Barnett said court proceedings could be daunting and often forced victims to relive their trauma.
“Tasmania’s redress scheme will be nation-leading and will be developed in close consultation with the community,” Barnett said.
“As well as offering a more trauma-informed avenue than civil litigation, the scheme will also offer affected mothers access to ongoing counselling support.”
The government says it will consult widely during the development of the scheme and put transition arrangements in place before it begins.
Support is available
Relationships Australia Tasmania’s Forced Adoption Support Service: 1300 364 277
Tasmanian Government’s DECYP Adoptions Service: 03 6166 0422
Lifeline: 13 11 14
