Link-Up

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About the Link-Up Program

The Link-up program (known formally as the Family Tracing and Reunion Services Program) was first supported by the Australian Government in 1998 as a part of the Australian Government's response to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's publication Bringing them home that reported the findings of a national inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.

The Link-up Program, which provides a national network of services supporting and assisting Indigenous people affected by past removal policies in tracing their genealogy and family history and potentially reuniting them with their families.

The Link-up program was administered by the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) until 2003, but administration was transferred to OATSIH on 1 July 2004 as part of the Australian Government's changes to the administration of Indigenous affairs.

Funding for the Link-up Program, the BTH Program and the SEWB RCs has now been rolled into the base funding of the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA), and is allocated on an annual basis.

For 2006-2007, $24 million was allocated for the four programs: BTH Program, Link-Up Program, the SEWB RCs, and the Mental Health Programs. Of this, $4.55 million is allocated to the Link-Up Program.

The Link-Up Program was included in an independent evaluation undertaken by Urbis Keys Young for OATSIH. The report ‘Evaluation of the Bringing Them Home and Indigenous Mental Health Programs’ ^[1] was publicly released on 9 May 2007. The evaluation found that:

• the Link Up and Bringing Them Home Counselling (BTHC) programs provided services to a large number of Indigenous clients, generally in culturally appropriate ways, who in most instances would not have received services otherwise;
• there is a generally high level of client satisfaction and positive outcomes for clients of the Link Up and BTHC Programs, and Mental Health Service Delivery Projects and a lower level of satisfaction with the Regional Centres;
• there is a significant level of unmet demand for the services, and services are under-resourced for the high workloads currently experienced;
• given the trans-generational impact of forced separation, the demand for services is likely to continue to be at least the same level for the foreseeable future;
• Mental Health Service Delivery Projects have long waiting lists and have limited capacity to respond to clients’ full range of needs; and
• there is a need for greater national consistency in service delivery in each of the programs.

References

1. Wilczynski A, Reed-Gilbert K, Milward K, Tayler B, Fear J, Schwartzkoff J (2007) Evaluation of the Bringing Them Home and Indigenous Mental Health Programs, final report Canberra: Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health