What was the Bringing Them Home report?

The Bringing Them Home report was the 1997 report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families, conducted by the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (now the Australian Human Rights Commission). The report documented the Stolen Generations and made 54 recommendations for acknowledgement, reparation, and reform.

The inquiry was established by Attorney-General Michael Lavarch in May 1995 under the Keating Labor government and continued under the incoming Howard Coalition government from March 1996. Sir Ronald Wilson (former High Court Justice and President of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Dodson led the inquiry. They heard evidence from 535 Indigenous people and 600 organisations across the country between 1995 and 1997, conducting hearings in every state and territory.

The report was tabled in the federal Parliament on 26 May 1997 (the date now marked as National Sorry Day each year). It estimated that between one in three and one in ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children had been removed from their families between 1910 and 1970, with most affected communities seeing about one third of children removed. The report documented the consequences for individuals, families, and communities, including mental health problems, substance abuse, loss of cultural identity, intergenerational trauma, and high rates of incarceration and child welfare involvement among descendants.

The report made 54 recommendations across six main areas. Acknowledgement and apology: a formal parliamentary apology from federal, state, and territory governments. Reparations: monetary compensation for those affected. Records and family reunion: improved access to records and support for family reunion. Health and counselling: targeted services for survivors and descendants. Education: incorporation of Stolen Generations history into school curricula. Legal reform: changes to relevant child welfare and family law systems. The Howard government accepted some recommendations but declined to issue a formal apology or to provide compensation, instead providing the 63 million dollar Reconciliation Australia funding package. State and territory governments issued apologies between 1997 and 2001. The federal Apology came on 13 February 2008 from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Most other recommendations have been progressively implemented across federal, state, and territory governments through reparation schemes, the Healing Foundation (established 2009), school curriculum changes, and family reunion services.