This report offers a comprehensive investigation into the long-term impacts of childhood spent in institutional or out-of-home care, focusing on individuals aged 50+ who were institutionalised as children in Australia. Using a mixed-methods design — a survey of 105 older care leavers, 24 in-depth interviews, and focus groups with aged‑care professionals — the study documents pervasive “formative harm,” including abuse, neglect, disrupted education, and dehumanization during childhood. Those early traumas translated into a life course marked by disadvantage: high rates of chronic illness and disability, mental health problems, housing insecurity, and difficulties in employment, relationships, and trust in systems. Many participants explicitly rejected the notion of re-entering residential aged care, viewing it as re‑institutionalization; instead, they expressed a strong preference for home-based or community‑based care if it ensured autonomy, dignity, consistency, and trauma‑informed support. The report concludes with concrete recommendations: aged‑care services must embed trauma‑informed practices, involve care leavers in service design, ensure small consistent caregiving teams, and create environments free from institutional triggers to foster dignity, respect, and better emotional and physical outcomes for older care leavers.
