Yorgum Healing Services’ Link-Up program in Perth has removed the research business unit of Link-Up, the specialists who trace family history and records for Stolen Generations survivors and their families. Most clients are Elders with years of trusted relationships with these researchers. All Link-Up staff, including this unit, were denied the required NAT-accredited certification due to high staff turnover within the organisation. Despite this, the researchers built deep practical expertise over years, including the networks needed to access accurate records the first time. That expertise is now being handed to standard caseworkers with neither the certification nor the relationships behind it. A letter was already sent to the Board raising these concerns directly, but the response received was unsatisfactory. We are now turning to this petition, and reminding Yorgum and its Board that the community it serves must be consulted before changes like this are made.

To the Chair and Secretary of the Board, Yorgum Healing Services Aboriginal Corporation,

We, the undersigned, call on you to reverse the decision to remove the research business unit of Link-Up in Perth, and to properly resource its reinstatement, including funding the NAT certification this team was previously denied.
A letter outlining these concerns was already sent directly to the Board. The response received was unsatisfactory, which is why we are now raising this matter publicly through this petition.

Why This Matters
Link-Up exists to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people separated from their families by past removal policies trace their family history, reconnect with kin, and heal from intergenerational trauma. This is specialised, historically grounded, trauma-informed work, not administrative casework.
Most clients are Elders who experienced removal firsthand, which makes continuity of care urgent. They do not have years to spare while new staff rebuild knowledge and relationships from scratch.

1. Hard-won expertise is being discarded
All Link-Up staff, not just the research business unit, were denied approval to complete the NAT-accredited Stolen Generations family history research and case management certification, due to high staff turnover within the organisation. Despite this, the research business unit spent years building the practical knowledge, archival networks, and institutional contacts needed to find accurate records the first time. A standard caseworker cannot simply step into that role; it took years to develop and is being lost in a single decision.

2. Established trust cannot be reassigned
Many clients, particularly Elders, have built deep, trusted relationships with these researchers over years, which is part of what makes the process safe. Clients have already raised concerns about the drop in quality and continuity this change will bring. For Elders especially, there may not be time left to rebuild that trust with someone new.

3. The risk of re-traumatisation is real
This research can surface distressing information, including evidence of abuse, death, or family rupture. Researchers with years of trauma-informed experience are trained to handle and deliver such findings safely. Without them, vulnerable clients face a greater risk of harm.

4. This undermines Yorgum's duty of care, and its obligation to consult community
Link-Up exists because this community needs dedicated, culturally safe, specialist support. Replacing experienced researchers with general caseworkers, after refusing for years to fund the very certification that would have formalised their skills, runs counter to the program’s purpose and the trust placed in it. We remind Yorgum Healing Services and its Board that decisions of this scale, which directly affect how community members access services, require genuine consultation with the community before they are made, not after.

We are calling on the Chair and Secretary of the Board to:
• Reinstate the research business unit of Link-Up.
• Fund and support all Link-Up staff to complete the NAT-accredited certification.
• Provide a satisfactory, substantive response to the concerns already raised directly with the Board.
• Commit to genuinely consulting clients, Elders, and community before making any future changes that affect how this service is delivered.

Stolen Generations Elders and their families have already lost so much, and have little time to lose more. They deserve a service that protects, rather than risks, the trust and healing they have worked so hard to build.
Sign this petition to stand with Yorgum’s Link-Up clients and their families.