We are sorry.

Ngala acknowledges the immeasurable trauma caused by the harmful practice of state-sanctioned forced adoptions.

Ngala accepts responsibility for its role in the wrongful separation of children from their mothers while in our care from the 1940’s to the mid 1980’s. Ngala sincerely apologises for the organisation’s involvement in what we now recognise was an extremely damaging practice.

We acknowledge that the actions of our organisation contributed to enduring trauma, shame, disempowerment, grief and guilt for all those affected by forced adoption.

Ngala is committed to working alongside survivors to support their personal journey of healing and will seek input from survivors on appropriate acknowledgement of their experiences and actions that we need to take to assist them to move forward.

We have reached out to other organisations historically involved in the forced adoption era with the aim to establish trauma-informed pathways for consultation and support of survivors.

As part of our commitment to taking responsibility for our role in forced adoptions, Ngala will make a submission to the WA Parliamentary Inquiry.

We will use the opportunity brought by the Inquiry to ensure these unacceptable practices can never happen again. Through our active participation, we will strive to better understand the impact our actions had on our community, identify any other organisations that we must cooperate with to appropriately support victims and their families, and learn more about our past through the tragic personal stories brought to light by victims and survivors.

Any survivors, their advocates or advocate organisations who would like to be updated on Ngala’s consultation and engagement process are welcome to email [email protected] to ensure they are notified of opportunities for ongoing consultation and support as they become available.

Ngala also encourages anyone affected to contact the Forced Adoption Support Service: 1800 21 03 13 or visit Relationship Australia’s Forced Adoption Support Service.

Revised 31st October, 2023.