Question & Answer – Forced Adoption Redress Scheme Concerns

June 23, 2026

Meg Webb MLC submitted the following question Without Notice on Thursday 11 June 2026, with the Answer provided in Parliament on Tuesday 23 June 2026. 

11 June 2026

I (Ms Webb) tomorrow to ask the Honourable Leader of the Government —

Recognising the formal apology delivered in the Parliament on the 18th October 2012 to those affected by Historical Forced Adoption practices during the 1950s through to the 1980s, specifically acknowledged amongst those affected the mothers, the adopted children and some fathers; and also regarding the state’s Forced Adoptions Redress Scheme announced on 23 October 2025, can the government please detail:

  1. Any work undertaken to identify the approximate numbers, and if so, the numbers identified of:

          a. Tasmanian mothers affected; and

          b. Children who were adopted under these historical practices;

2. Consultation processes undertaken regarding the scope, eligibility requirements, design and implementation of the Redress Scheme, including:

          a. Consultation timeframes;

          b. Whether the consultation was undertaken in person, online, or via any other method;

          c. Whether consultation was undertaken regionally, and if so which regions;

          d. The number of victims/survivors consulted;

          e. Any organisations or formal victims/survivor representatives consulted;

3. Whether any consideration was provided to include in the Redress Scheme children who were adopted under the forced adoption policies, and if not, why not?; and

4 The numbers of expressions of interest, if any, made by victims/survivors to the Interim Historical Forced Adoptions Scheme, and the number of applications currently accepted under that Interim Scheme?

Government response

  1. Any work undertaken to identify the approximate numbers, and if so, the numbers identified of:

          a. Tasmanian mothers affected; and

          b. Children who were adopted under these historical practices;

  • In Tasmania, the number of historical forced adoptions in Tasmania is not known, and as such, the number of children adopted under these historical practices is also not known.
  • The Department reviewed publicly available information, in particular the 1999 Parliamentary Inquiry by the Joint Select Committee, Adoption and Related Services: 1958-1988, into past adoption practices in Tasmania. This inquiry estimated that between 1920 and 1998 there were 11,338 adoption orders made. Of this number, 11,074 were made before July 1989.
  • The Department will engage an actuary to undertake an actuarial assessment to update the anticipated cost of the redress scheme.
  1. Consultation processes undertaken regarding the scope, eligibility requirements, design and implementation of the Redress Scheme, including:

           a. Consultation timeframes;

           b. Whether the consultation was undertaken in person, online, or via any other method;

           c. Whether consultation was undertaken regionally, and if so which regions;

           d. The number of victims/survivors consulted;

           e. Any organisations or formal victims/survivor representatives consulted;

  • Consultation commenced on 22 December 2025 and closed on 15 February 2026.
  • Prior to 22 December, people were able to register their interest in participating in consultation, following the Government’s announcement of the scheme in October 2025.
  • Details of the proposed Scheme were made available via Have your Say. Submissions could be made online, either as a general response or by completing a tailored survey. Direct feedback was also received from the community both in person and over the phone.
  • The tailored survey was sent directly to all individuals and organisations who registered interest in participating in the consultation process. A total of 45 letters and surveys were sent by the Department to those who registered their interest.
  • Feedback was provided in the form of survey responses, online submissions, phone calls and emails. The Department also met in person with some members of the community to receive their feedback, given the sensitivity of the issues.
  • The survey sought feedback on the proposed parameters of the full scheme, including the proposed redress amount for affected mothers of $75,000 (which at the time of consultation was proposed as $65,000 for a redress payment and $10,000 for counselling and psychological services).
  • The survey also sought feedback on:
  • which circumstances of forced adoption should be considered, including what documents and information could be provided to support that the adoption was forced
  • how payments should be managed in the event an applicant passes away during the application process
  • what supports were required during the application process
  • whether eligible mothers would be interested in receiving a direct personal response and by what mechanism, and
  • any other additional feedback the person may like to provide.
  • The survey allowed respondents to provide unstructured feedback and attach any documents they wished to submit.
  • At the conclusion of the consultation period, a total of 157 individuals and organisations provided feedback. This included 97 mothers, 38 adoptees, and 22 other members of the community (the latter being grouped as respondents who did not identify whether they were a mother, forced adoptee or otherwise).
  1. Whether any consideration was provided to include in the Redress Scheme children who were adopted under the forced adoption policies, and if not, why not?
  • The Scheme has been developed with a specific focus on mothers who were subjected to forced adoption practices in line with the Government’s announcement of October 2025. It is intended to respond to the experiences of mothers affected by forced adoption, which resulted in profound and lasting harm to mothers through the removal of their babies. The creation of this redress scheme was a significant decision of government to assist affected mothers. This focus reflects the purpose of the Scheme and is not intended to compare experiences or diminish the impact on others affected by adoptions.
  1. The numbers of expressions of interest, if any, made by victims/survivors to the Interim Historical Forced Adoptions Scheme, and the number of applications currently accepted under that Interim Scheme?
  • Mothers who contacted the Department during the consultation period were notified when the interim redress scheme opened on 15 February 2026. The Department wrote, and in some cases, called and met in person with these mothers, in order to support them to complete an interim redress scheme application.
  • As at 12 June 2026, 20 mothers have applied for the interim scheme. 17 mothers were determined as eligible, while three did not meet the criteria of ‘urgent and exceptional need’. All 20 mothers are being contacted from Monday 15 June 2026, to support them to apply for the full Scheme

Hon Guy Barnett MP
Deputy Premier
Attorney-General
Minister for Justice, Corrections and Rehabilitation
Minister for Small Business, Trade and Consumer Affairs
Minister for Environment and Climate Change

View Meg’s Question Without Notice and the Government’s response, below or as a pdf here.

RESPONSE - QWON - Hon Meg Webb MLC - Forced Adoptions Redress Scheme