Bringing Them Home is the 1997 Australian Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families.

The inquiry was established by the federal Attorney-General, Michael Lavarch, on 11 May 1995,[2] in response to efforts made by key Indigenous agencies and communities concerned that the general public's ignorance of the history of forcible removal was hindering the recognition of the needs of its victims and their families and the provision of services.

[6] The inquiry was primarily conducted by Sir Ronald Wilson, President of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, and Mick Dodson, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.

The co-commissioners were: Annette Peardon, Marjorie Thorpe, Maryanne Bin Salik, Sadie Canning, Olive Knight, Kathy Mills, Anne Louis, Laurel Williams, Jackie Huggins, Josephine Ptero-David and Marcia Langton.

Members of the council were: Annette Peardon, Brian Butler, Yami Lester, Irene Stainton, Floyd Chermside, Barbara Cummings, Grant Dradge, Carol Kendall, Lola McNaughton, Isabel Coe, Peter Rotimah, Nigel D'Souza, Maureen Abbott, Margaret Ah Kee, Bill Lowah, Matilda House, and Jim Wright.

[13] Prime Minister John Howard drafted the wording in consultation with Democrat Senator Aden Ridgeway, the only Aboriginal person then sitting in the federal parliament.

[15] On 11 December 2007, the newly elected government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that an official apology would be made to Indigenous Australians.

[16] On 13 February 2008, at 9:00am (AEDT), Rudd tabled the following apology as the first order of business at the opening of Australia's Parliament in 2008; it was passed unanimously by the members of the lower house at 9:57 a.m.: I move that: Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement, and economic opportunity.

[17] On 17 June 1997, the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, Kate Carnell, moved a motion in the Territory Assembly that included the words: "that this Assembly apologises to the Ngunnawal people and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the ACT for the hurt and distress inflicted upon any people as a result of the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families".

[17] On 13 August 1997, the Tasmanian Premier, Tony Rundle, moved a parliamentary motion that included the words: "That this Parliament, on behalf of all Tasmanians, expresses its deep and sincere regrets at the hurt and distress caused by past policies under which Aboriginal children were removed from their families and homes, apologises to the Aboriginal people for those past actions and reaffirms its support for reconciliation between all Australians".

[17] On 26 May 1999, the Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie, issued a parliamentary statement that included the following words: "This house recognises the critical importance to Indigenous Australians and the wider community of a continuing reconciliation process, based on an understanding of, and frank apologies for, what has gone wrong in the past and total commitment to equal respect in the future.

[1] The Howard government rejected some elements of the findings of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families, notably the recommendation for an "apology".

[13] Prime Minister John Howard believed that the term "apology" would suggest inter-generational guilt, and therefore left out the word "sorry" from his Motion of Reconciliation.