Personal Acknowledgement

What is a Personal Acknowledgement?

A Personal Acknowledgement aims to contribute to your healing journey.

A Personal Acknowledgement is one of three elements of redress available under the Scheme. It is an opportunity for your story about your removal and the impact it has had on you to be acknowledged by a senior government person and receive a personalised and genuine acknowledgement of the resulting harm and trauma. It is also sometimes called a direct personal response.

You can choose to have your Personal Acknowledgement face-to-face with a senior government person, in writing from a senior government person, or you can have both.

We will ask you if you would like a Personal Acknowledgement when we send you your Offer Letter. It is your choice if you would like to tell your story, how much of your story you would like to share and the way you would like to share your story.

If you would like a Personal Acknowledgement you need to say ‘yes’ when you return your Acceptance Deed. If you do not know if you would like a Personal Acknowledgement yet, that’s OK. You can still say ‘yes’ in your Acceptance Deed so the option stays open for when, and if you are ready.

You do not have to have your Personal Acknowledgement straight away, or at all. If you ticked ‘yes’ in your Acceptance Deed, you can take your time until you feel ready and you have until 30 June 2028 to let us know you would like a Personal Acknowledgement.

If you say ‘no’ to a Personal Acknowledgement in your Acceptance Deed you will not be able to change your mind later.

Who is involved in a Personal Acknowledgement

You will be supported throughout your Personal Acknowledgement with a Personal Acknowledgement liaison officer and a facilitator. Both will work with you to understand your preferences and expectations.

Personal Acknowledgement liaison officers

Personal Acknowledgement liaison officers work for the Scheme and will support you with the information you need throughout your Personal Acknowledgement. They will work with you to plan the best possible Personal Acknowledgement for you.

They will also be in touch regularly to check-in with you to make sure you feel OK to continue with your Personal Acknowledgement. You can put your Personal Acknowledgement on hold at any time.

Facilitators

Our facilitators are independent of government and trained specifically to support Personal Acknowledgements.

Your facilitator will have a preparation meeting with you and your support person (if you would like to have a support person) to discuss your hopes and expectations for your Personal Acknowledgement. Your facilitator will focus on creating a safe space for you during your Personal Acknowledgement and in ensuring you feel supported to continue.

Your facilitator will work with you to determine how much of your story you would like to tell and how you would like to tell it. They can also pass on any issues you may wish to raise with the senior government person.

Support person

If you would like extra support you can choose to have a support person throughout your Personal Acknowledgement, including when you receive your Personal Acknowledgement.

Your support person should be someone you are comfortable with and trust. It may be the same person who was your nominee during the application process. Your support person might be your partner, family member, friend, or even a professional support worker or counsellor (who would support you in a personal capacity, not in a professional or advocacy capacity, as they will not be paid by the Scheme to attend).

We encourage you to have a support person through the Personal Acknowledgement and to support you afterwards. You do not have to have a support person or bring a support person to your Personal Acknowledgement—it is your choice.

Senior government person

A senior government person will also have a role in your Personal Acknowledgment and will be selected on your personal preferences. If you choose to have a face-to-face Personal Acknowledgement, this is the person you will meet with. If you choose to have a written Personal Acknowledgement, this is the person who will write your letter.

If you are a senior executive from a Commonwealth organisation who would like to be involved in delivering Personal Acknowledgements, you can read more on the Senior government person page.

Interpreters

If you need an interpreter at your meetings and one is available we can arrange one for you.

Types of Personal Acknowledgements

Your liaison officer will contact you to find out whether you would like your Personal Acknowledgement face-to-face, in writing, or both.

Generally, from the time contact has been made with the Personal Acknowledgement team it can take around 12 weeks to arrange and deliver a face-to-face Personal Acknowledgement. It should not take any longer than 10 weeks to receive a Personal Acknowledgment letter. If you are concerned about the length of time it may take to arrange your Personal Acknowledgment, you can raise this with your liaison officer.

You may also need more time to prepare emotionally to share your story. We will work with you at a pace that suits you. You can even ask us to put your Personal Acknowledgment arrangements on hold if you need to.

If you choose to have a Personal Acknowledgement, it is important to remember:

• Our priority is your safety and wellbeing as well as everyone else involved in your Personal Acknowledgement.
• You are in control of how and when your Personal Acknowledgement will happen, what you would like to share and what you hope it will achieve.

Further information about the types of Personal Acknowledgements are below.

Face-to-face

If you choose to have your Personal Acknowledgement face-to-face with a senior government person it can take different forms, depending on what you are comfortable with. It is an opportunity for your story about your removal and the impact it has had, and may continue to have, on you to be acknowledged. You can choose how you tell your story. You do not have to tell all of your story—you only need to share what you are comfortable with.

The senior government person will listen to you, acknowledge your experience, and discuss with you what you feel needs to change in order to improve wellbeing now and in the future for Stolen Generations survivors and descendants.

Your support person (if you choose to have one) and your facilitator will all be there to support you through the face-to-face Personal Acknowledgement.

If possible, your face-to-face Personal Acknowledgement can be held close to where you live or somewhere else meaningful to you. We will make all the arrangements for your Personal Acknowledgement, including your and your support person’s transport and accommodation, and we will pay for these costs.

Face-to-face Personal Acknowledgements will generally go for two to three hours, but this may vary for each person. If you or your support person feel like you need a break during your Personal Acknowledgement, you can take one at any time. We want you to feel safe and supported during this process.

If you would like an Acknowledgement of Country to take place at the start of your Personal Acknowledgement or if there are other cultural practices that you would like to include, please let your facilitator or liaison officer know so we can work with you to incorporate them in your Personal Acknowledgement.

When your Personal Acknowledgement has ended, your facilitator will check-in with you to make sure you feel OK. They will also check-in with you two weeks after your Personal Acknowledgement. You can also ask them to check in with you again if you need at an agreed time. Your liaison officer can also check-in with you if you would like.

If you can, it is good to have your own personal supports in place after your Personal Acknowledgement too, such as your support person, your family or your friends.

If you asked for both a face-to-face Personal Acknowledgement and a letter, your Personal Acknowledgement letter will be written by the same senior government person that you met. You can ask for your letter to include certain things, for example something you talked about when you met face-to-face.

Personal letter

You do not have to have a face-to-face Personal Acknowledgement with a senior government person to receive a letter (written acknowledgement). You can ask for your Personal Acknowledgement to be a letter acknowledging your removal and the impact it had on you.

Similar to the face-to-face Personal Acknowledgement, you will have a facilitator and a liaison officer who will work with you to support you through the process and make sure the letter meets your hopes and expectations.

The letter will be written by a senior government person, who will be selected based on your personal preferences.

Group Personal Acknowledgement

You can choose to have a Personal Acknowledgement with other survivors who have received redress through the Scheme and have agreed to participate as a group. If this is something you think you would like, you can discuss this with your liaison officer.

Your group Personal Acknowledgement will have the same facilitator and senior government person. Depending on how many people are in your group, the preparation meeting and the Personal Acknowledgement meeting with the senior government person may run for longer. There may also be less time to go discuss in depth everyone’s stories and experiences. Your liaison officer will be able to work through this process with you.

All group members and their support persons should attend the preparation meeting with the facilitator together but if there is something you wish to share with the facilitator privately you can.