Launching our new Open Place website for Forgotten Australians

We’re proud to formally launch our new website for Open Place, our specialist support service for Forgotten Australians. The launch coincides with the 2-year anniversary of Relationships Australia Victoria’s operation of Open Place.

Open Place is a support and advocacy service that coordinates and provides direct assistance to people who grew up in Victorian orphanages and homes prior to 1990, known as Forgotten Australians or Pre-1990 Care Leavers.

We’re excited to present this updated website, following a scoping and development project that identified the need for increased accessibility, a more contemporary and welcoming design, a mobile-responsive platform, and for information to be revised to be clearer and more relevant to service users and stakeholders. The site's launch follows the launch of a new RAV website in late 2021. Together, the 2 websites are designed to enable Open Place users to find out about and access the Open Place service more easily.

‘On behalf of the Open Place team, I'm pleased to formally launch the website. Our hope is that the new design and functionality will strengthen how we connect with Forgotten Australians and other stakeholders.

'The aim of the site is to provide up-to-date information and resources that will enhance accessibility for our service users and stakeholders and be one of the mechanisms that ensure our services remain responsive, relevant and open to your needs and ideas.’ – Michelle McDonald, Senior Manager Open Place

We encourage users to visit the new website, to access our comprehensive resource library, and our news and events sections for Open Place service updates and upcoming activities.