Our Records, Find & Connect team can support you to search for family members who you were separated from as a result of being placed in care, such as siblings, parents or grandparents.

We work closely with VANISH to organise many of these searches. VANISH is a support, information and referral service for people affected by adoption or donor conception. They also conduct family searches for Forgotten Australians on behalf of Open Place.

As part of this process, you may also need to apply for your own records of time ‘in care’.

This journey can bring up mixed emotions as you find out about your family history.

You may find it helpful to access some counselling support through Open Place or with a counsellor of your choice while you undertake your records and family search.

The search can take a significant amount of time to complete. However, we will keep you updated as information about your family is found.

Please be aware that, when searching for living family members, we can only search information sources that are available to the public, due to privacy laws.