Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Stolen Generations aged 50 and over: updated analyses for 2018–19

Abstract

In 2018–19 there were an estimated 27,200 surviving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 and over who had been removed from their families and communities as a result of past government policies. This represents around 1 in 5 (or 21%) of the total estimated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population aged 50 and over in the scope of the 2018–19 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey.

These survivors among the Stolen Generations who are aged 50 or over are of special interest because of their greater needs for health, disability and housing services related to their age.

This report presents detailed comparative analyses on a range of health and socioeconomic characteristics between the Stolen Generations aged 50 and over, other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are also aged 50 and over but who were not removed from their families, and the general non-Indigenous population aged 50 and over.

The findings of this report show that the Stolen Generations aged 50 and over are more likely to be worse off than other Indigenous Australians of the same age on a range of health and socioeconomic outcomes. These results are consistent with a previous Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW 2018a) report which analysed a similar set of outcomes for the Stolen
Generations aged 50 and over from an earlier 2014–15 survey.