Write your submission COI | jigsawqueensland

Tips & Guidelines for Writing Your Own Submission

Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety & Review of the Adoption Act 2009

Although the Inquiry’s online submission portal does not appear particularly inviting or inclusive of adult lived-experience voices—especially for people affected by past adoptions—please don’t let that put you off. Your voice matters. It is vital that the Inquiry hears directly from people who live with the lifelong impacts of adoption.

You do not need to have recently been adopted, nor to be connected to the contemporary child protection system for your submission to be relevant. The Inquiry is examining the safety, rights and wellbeing of children—and your lived experience provides essential insight into what helps, what harms, and what must never be repeated. Your perspective demonstrates adoptions impacts over our lifetime.

If writing feels overwhelming, you can choose other formats:

Record a voice note or audio file
Provide a short video of yourself speaking
Submit anonymously or de-identified
Choose whether your submission can be published or kept private

You can lodge your submission directly on the Inquiry’s website, email or write to them.

Tips for Writing Your Submission

You do not need to be a policy expert—the Commissioner has specifically stated he wants to hear lived-experience voices. This is YOUR submission and the following are only tips and guidelines for you to consider. Your submission can be a few paragraphs, a page, or longer. Whatever feels right.

1. Start With Who You Are

(As much or as little as you feel comfortable sharing)

You may wish to include:

Whether you are an adopted person, mother, father, or sibling
The year or era of your adoption experience
If you were adopted during the forced adoption era, let them know when you discovered the truth about your adoption (what age)

For most adopted people from the forced adoption era, the truth of the coercive and illegal policies and practices of that time were discovered only in adulthood—sometimes very recently. This is important for the Commissioner to understand.

There is a persistent misconception that the impacts felt by people adopted during the forced adoption era are solely due to the coercive circumstances of removal. In reality, many of the most significant lifelong impacts came from adoption itself—forced adoption policies and practices were just the reason we were adopted.

2. For adopted people. Describe the Impacts of Adoption Over Your Life

You might reflect on your experiences within your adoptive family and beyond.

In the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) national study (2012):

Only 54% of adopted people reported a positive relationship with adoptive parents
44% reported a poor or very poor relationship with one or both adoptive parents
28% had been diagnosed with a moderate or severe mental health disorder
70% identified ongoing difficulties with identity, belonging, self-worth, and attachment

In Jigsaw’s services, adopted people regularly report:

Loss of identity, ancestry and cultural connection
Ongoing grief and trauma from early separation
Difficulty forming secure relationships
People-pleasing, perfectionism, fear of abandonment
“Not fitting anywhere” or belonging uncertainty
Anxiety, depression, suicidality
Shame, secrecy, and stigma
Medical and genetic uncertainty
Stress in relationships with adoptive and biological families
Complex emotions around reunion
Trauma reactivation when public debate promotes pro-adoption narratives

You can include positive and challenging experiences in your submission. These lived experiences are direct and critical evidence for the Inquiry.

3. For mothers and fathers who lost children to adoption and siblings

What was the impact of this loss on your lives?

How did it impact your well-being, relationships and mental health?

What did you lose through adoption?

4. Explain What Children and Families Need Instead

You may wish to highlight:

Keeping children safely with their families wherever possible
Investing in providing proper support so separation can be avoided
Preferring kinship care, foster care or permanent care orders over adoption
Replacing plenary adoption with simple adoption as a last resort when there are no other options available
Truth-telling, open access to records, and transparency
Lifelong—not time-limited—support
Prioritising lived experience in all future policy decisions

These points help demonstrate how past practices can inform a safer future.

5. Are there any unfinished recommendations from the Senate Report that you would like to see acted on?

You can read Jigsaw Queensland’s full submission here. There may be recommendations that you’d like to support in your own submission.

6. Comment on the Inquiry Process

Many in our community have noticed:

The submission categories do not acknowledge adults affected by adoption
This omission mirrors the historical silencing of lived experience
Yet you are choosing to participate because these harms must never be repeated

Your reflections on this can be invaluable.

5. End With What You Hope Will Change

Examples might include:

“I want no child to lose their identity the way I did.”
“I want families to be supported, not erased.”
“I want the truth of our history to guide the future.”

Simple, honest statements carry enormous weight.

Jigsaw Can Support You

Writing a submission can be empowering, but it can also be emotionally challenging. You don’t have to do it alone.

We can:

Provide emotional support if difficult feelings arise
Offer peer support through our regular peer support groups

If you need support, please reach out.