13 years after the National Apology: VANISH and ARMS event reflects on progress and the path forward

On a sunny autumn afternoon, VANISH and ARMS Victoria members gathered at the Taken Not Given memorial in East Melbourne to mark the 13th anniversary of the National Apology for Forced Adoptions, delivered by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard AC on 21 March 2013.

Adoptees, mothers, partners, post-adoption professionals and supporters came together to connect over afternoon tea and hear from two powerful speakers about how far we’ve come and how far we still need to go.

As the MC for the day, Michelle Blanchard, CEO of VANISH, acknowledged the significance of the apology, while also recognising that apologies are inherently imperfect: “Some people felt seen and validated by the apology; others felt it did not reflect their story, or that it came without the meaningful actions needed to follow it.” 

Jo Fraser, Convenor of ARMS Victoria, also provided opening remarks and reminded us that change doesn’t happen overnight—it’s a process, before introducing Lily, the first speaker.

Reflecting on 40+ years of mothers’ advocacy

Lily Clifford, founder of ARMS Victoria, guided us on a journey through history, that many younger attendees may not have lived through but needed to understand, leading up to the landmark Victorian Adoption Act (1984) that enabled adopted people to access identifying information about their natural parents—an Australian first.

Lily traced the origins of reform back to the early 1970s, when “illegitimate” children were legally classified as filius nullius—nobody’s child. They were denied inheritance rights, had “bastardy” stamps on their birth certificates and school records, and faced barriers to employment and social participation. Unmarried mothers endured poverty, moral judgment, and even imprisonment.

The tide was turning in 1969 when the Council for the Single Mother and Her Child (CSMC) was established, and later its national body NCSMC, an organisation founded by women who had managed to keep their ex-nuptial children. Through relentless advocacy—submissions, media work, networking—they achieved what Lily called a trifecta of reforms: the Supporting Mother’s Pension (1973), the Status of Children Act (1974) which abolished the legal category of illegitimacy in Victoria, and the Reference of Powers (1975) which transferred responsibility for ex-nuptial children to the Commonwealth to make decisions for all children on an equal basis.

These reforms laid the groundwork for what came next. In 1982, the National Adoption Conference was held in South Australia.  Lily and a small group of ‘relinquishing’ mothers called a meeting for mothers only. Fifteen or sixteen women turned up. Together, they decided to stop letting social workers speak for them and to establish an organisation for mothers to speak for themselves. ARMS was founded in 1982, sparking a whirlwind of media activity, and its monthly support meetings have continued without interruption for 43 years.

But the path to legislative change was rocky. As the 1984 Adoption Act was being negotiated, Minister Pauline Toner delivered difficult news: negotiations had stalled over whether mothers should have the right to identifying information about their adult children. The Minister was willing to take the risk, but left the decision to the mothers.

Lily described it as a heartbreaking choice. ARMS returned to first principles—the paramountcy of children’s rights to know their origins—and told the Minister to withdraw rights for mothers and proceed with legislation granting rights to adoptees, even though it meant postponing their own. The Minister promised to return within three years to pursue mothers’ rights.

It took 30 years. Victoria was the last state in Australia to grant mothers the right to know the identity of their adult children, and when it finally came, it included a veto allowing adoptees to block mothers from receiving information.

Lily echoed Jo’s words that change is a process—and a very long one. “ARMS continued to speak the truth, to expose the cruelty of the system, and to insist on accountability,” she concluded. “And we will continue to defend our children and their rights, just as we have from the beginning.”

What’s been achieved and what’s still missing

Dr Penny Zagarelou-Mackieson—author, former VANISH Chair, adopted at birth and ‘de-adopted’ in 2022—delivered a detailed assessment of progress since the National Apology. Her speech acknowledged achievements while making clear that symbolic recognition has not translated into sufficient practical reform.

On the achievement side, Penny noted that the federal government’s Forced Adoption Support Services (FASS) program has continued beyond its original five-year commitment, though funding arrangements remain opaque and the program is overdue for review. Victoria has established a redress scheme for mothers and Tasmania has agreed to in principle. Contact vetoes have been repealed across all jurisdictions. And integrated birth certificates—which record both natural and adoptive parents—have been introduced for adopted adults in the ACT, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

But there have also been developments that adoptees didn’t seek. For example, in 2015, the Australian Parliament expanded pathways for expatriate adoptions outside the oversight of domestic intercountry adoption programs and the Hague Convention. Laws enabling same-sex couple adoption were introduced across all jurisdictions between 2013 and 2018. Penny took issue not with these laws themselves, but with how they were framed—particularly in Victoria, where the Government promoted the change as achieving “adoption equality” for children, again centring the demand of adoptive parents rather than the human rights of the child.

Most painfully, the Victorian Government decided not to establish a redress scheme for adoptees, despite initially indicating “support in principle” following the 2021 Inquiry into Responses to Historical Forced Adoptions in Victoria. A brief statement was quietly added to a government webpage dismissing further consideration. “Just like that,” Penny said, “the Victorian Government dismissed the lived experience of the many thousands of us who were separated from our mothers as infants.” The decision sets a precedent for other jurisdictions and officially deems adoptees’ trauma, ongoing grief and lifelong challenges in relation to loss, unworthy of redress. “In my view, in principle—in the interests of fairness and consistency—it is discriminatory and unfair for a Redress Scheme to be introduced for one half of the mother-child dyad forcibly separated through past adoption practices, but not for the other.”

Penny outlined three priorities still to be achieved:

1. A National Apology and Redress Scheme for intercountry adoptees. Following South Korea’s 2025 admission of responsibility for human rights violations in past international adoptions—including babies kidnapped and sent to Australian families with false documents—the Australian Government has announced an independent investigation into historic Republic of Korea–Australia intercountry adoptions (1964-1999). Penny strongly supports calls to broaden this investigation to include adoptions from other sending countries.

2. A National Redress Scheme for persons adopted under past forced and closed adoption practices.

3. Nationwide cessation of the practice of cancelling adopted individuals’ original birth certificates. Penny has long argued that the very concept of “plenary” adoption—the type of adoption we have across Australia—erases children’s natural identities and perpetuates secrecy. Penny critiqued the introduction of integrated birth certificates as insufficient, like “trying to retrofit another ‘open’ practice onto an institution that, last century, was increasingly designed to be ‘closed’”. She advocated for comprehensive reform of birth certificate laws to ensure honesty for adopted, donor-conceived, and surrogacy-born individuals. Her forthcoming book, currently titled Truth, Not Lies: The need for honest birth certificates, explores this in depth and is due for release in July-August 2026.

Our tree of voices

The afternoon also included a reflective activity: a tree of voices where attendees wrote messages on coloured leaves and hung them on branches.

Green leaves carried messages to government and society: “Adoption has lifelong impacts…when will my voice as an adoptee be heard by the wider community and governments??”

Yellow leaves held messages across separation—to natural parents, adoptees, siblings, family members: “Know that you were always loved!”

Blue leaves expressed what gives us strength and what we’re grateful for in this community: “Thank you for your insightful speeches, important work and advocacy, and clear steps for the future.”

The work continues

Thirteen years after the National Apology, our community is still waiting for concrete action. But we are inspired by advocates like Lily and Penny, and strengthened by everyone who continues to be part of this community.

As Lily and Jo reminded us, change is a process. The apology was an important step, but the work is far from finished.

If you’ve been impacted by adoption and need support, VANISH is here. Contact us via this page or call (03) 9328 8611. For more information about ARMS Victoria, visit their website.