Formation | June 28, 1941 |
---|---|
Type | Non-governmental organisation |
Registration no. | 50169561394 |
Legal status | Incorporated by royal charter [1] |
Purpose | Humanitarian aid |
Headquarters | Melbourne, Victoria |
Region | Australia |
Services | |
Andrew Colvin | |
President | Ross Pinney |
Patron | David Hurley |
Subsidiaries | Australian Red Cross Lifeblood |
Affiliations | International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement |
Budget (2019–20) | A$1.135 billion [2] |
Expenses (2019–20) | A$1.029 billion [2] |
Website | redcross |
Formerly called | British Red Cross Australian Branch |
Australian Red Cross, formally Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1914 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, Australian Red Cross Society is the national member of the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and part of the International Red Cross Movement. Australian Red Cross is guided by the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and as such is a non-religious, neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organisation.
Australian Red Cross provides a range of services and programmes including international aid across the Asia-Pacific region, international humanitarian law advocacy, migration support, emergency management, blood donation via Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, and community services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, youth, families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.
David Hurley, former governor-general of Australia, is the patron of Australian Red Cross and a non-voting member of the Council of the Society of Australian Red Cross. The Council is the peak governance decision-making body and is made up of the Red Cross Board, up to six special councillors, and 32 members appointed by Divisional Advisory Boards. [3] [4]
A branch of British Red Cross was established in Australia in 1914, nine days after the start of World War I, by Lady Helen Munro Ferguson.
The organisation grew at a rapid rate. Lady Helen wrote to the mayors of every shire and municipality in Australia asking them to initiate a local branch. Typically, a letter was published in the local newspaper and a meeting called. By November 1914, New South Wales had 88 city or suburban branches and 249 country branches, all established within the previous four months. The Society was accepted by the community from the beginning. Much of the World War I home front activities such as knitting socks and rolling bandages were done by local Red Cross branches. The Red Cross Information Bureau was established in 1915 in order to coordinate information gathered on the dead and their burial beyond what was provided by the armed forces. The Red Cross Wounded and Missing files were extensive with searchers sometimes sent overseas to clarify information, make better judgements and resolve conflicting accounts. [5] In 1916 Australian Red Cross Society sent a team of 21 civilian nurses to France; these nurses were dubbed the "Bluebirds" in reference to the colours of their specially-designed uniforms. [6]
From the establishment of the Repatriation Commission Outpatient Clinic at 310 St Kilda Rd, Southbank, in 1937, Red Cross maintained the canteen staffed by up to 25 volunteers. The canteen provided tea, coffee, biscuits and company for between 200 and 250 veterans each day waiting their appointments.[ citation needed ]
In 1939 there were bushfires, and in addition another world war seemed very likely. Lilian Avis Scantlebury assisted the organisation's development so that it could deal with emergencies whether of natural or man-made causes. Scantlebury became a vice-president [7] during World War II. The Red Cross provided assistance to the sick, wounded, and maimed, and their dependants. [8] By agreement with the federal government they provided hostel accommodation to those with no living relatives or friends to support them upon returning home from war. [9] At the time the majority of the volunteers were unemployed married women. High rates of membership in the organisation were attributed to their annual national recruitment drive. [8]
The British Red Cross Australian Branch changed its name to Australian Red Cross Society and was incorporated by royal charter on 28 June 1941. Membership grew from 260,000 in 1941 to 450,000 in 1944. Australian Red Cross proved to be an important link between the public and Japanese prisoners of war. [8]
In 2005, the organisation made an agreement with the Maldives Government to help clear debris created by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. [10] In December 2010, aid workers from Australian Red Cross were sent to Christmas Island to assist the survivors of the 2010 Christmas Island boat disaster. [11] Australian Red Cross volunteers were also active after Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin, the Ash Wednesday bushfires, the Black Saturday bushfires and the 2010–11 Queensland floods.[ citation needed ]
In 2013, Australian Red Cross was a recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards. [12]
All Australian Red Cross programs are primarily run, organised, and managed by volunteers with oversight from Red Cross employees. Volunteers are organised into three different groups, responding to different needs: [13]
Red Cross statistics show that 2.5 million people have, in some form, volunteered with Australian Red Cross since its inception. [18]
The eight priority areas of Red Cross [19] are:
In 2017, Australian Red Cross was the recipient of the UN Day Honour award, which recognise "individuals or organisations in Australia that have made a significant contribution to the aims and objectives of the UN, for example in promoting peace, respect for human rights, equal opportunities, social justice and environmental sustainability". [20]
The Torres Strait Islands are an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of 48,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi), but their total land area is 566 km2 (219 sq mi).
Torres Strait Islanders are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal peoples of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped with them as Indigenous Australians. Today, there are many more Torres Strait Islander people living in mainland Australia than on the Islands.
Murray Island in the Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. The island is part of the Murray Island Group in the Torres Strait. The town is on the island's northwest coast and within the locality of Mer Island. The island is of volcanic origin, the most easterly inhabited island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago, just north of the Great Barrier Reef. The name Meer/Mer/Maer comes from the native Meriam language. In the 2021 census, Mer Island had a population of 406 people.
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more than 17,200 volunteers and 3,400 staff. At the heart of their work is providing help to people in crisis, both in the UK and overseas. The Red Cross is committed to helping people without discrimination, regardless of their ethnic origin, nationality, political beliefs or religion. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron of the society until her death in 2022, and was replaced by her successor King Charles III, who previously served as president between 2003 and 2024.
Reconciliation Australia is a non-government, not-for-profit foundation established in January 2001 to promote a continuing national focus for reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It was established by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, which was established to create a framework for furthering a government policy of reconciliation in Australia.
Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf Country. The waters of Torres Strait include the only international border in the area contiguous with the Australian mainland, between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Saibai Island, commonly called Saibai, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago, located in the Torres Strait of Queensland, Australia. The island is situated north of the Australian mainland and south of the island of New Guinea. The island is a locality within the Torres Strait Island Region local government area. The town of Saibai is located on the north-west coast of the island.
Hammond Island is an island with a town of the same name, in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. It is the only island within the locality of Keriri Island within the local government area of Torres Strait Island Region. In the 2021 census, Hammond Island had a population of 261 people, of whom 253 (96.9%) identified as Indigenous Australians.
Coconut Island, Poruma Island, or Puruma in the local language, is an island in the Great North East Channel near Cumberland Passage, Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. One of the Torres Strait Islands, Coconut Island is 130 kilometres (81 mi) northeast of Thursday Island. Administratively, Coconut Island is a town and Poruma Island is the locality within the Shire of Torres.
Indigenous Australian self-determination, also known as Aboriginal Australian self-determination, is the power relating to self-governance by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. It is the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to determine their own political status and pursue their own economic, social and cultural interests. Self-determination asserts that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should direct and implement Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy formulation and provision of services. Self-determination encompasses both Aboriginal land rights and self-governance, and may also be supported by a treaty between a government and an Indigenous group in Australia.
Stephens Island, called Ugar in the local Meriam language, lies in the eastern group of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago of Queensland, Australia. The island is within the locality of Ugar Island within the local government area of the Torres Strait Island Region.
John Joseph Herron was an Australian politician, ambassador and surgeon who was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate from 1990 to 2002, representing Queensland. From 1996 to 2001 he was the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. From 2002 to 2006 he was the Australian Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See.
A community legal centre (CLC) is the Australian term for an independent not-for-profit organisation providing legal aid services, that is, provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. They provide legal advice and traditional casework for free, primarily funded by federal, state and local government. Working with clients who are mostly the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in Australian society, they also work with other agencies to address related problems, including financial, social and health issues. Their functions may include campaigning for law reform and developing community education programs.
The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) (ALS), known also as Aboriginal Legal Service, is a community-run organisation in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, founded in 1970 to provide legal services to Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders and based in the inner-Sydney suburb of Redfern. It now has branches across NSW and ACT, with its head office in Castlereagh Street, Sydney and a branch office in Regent Street, Redfern.
The Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), founded in Adelaide, South Australia, as the Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement (FCAA) on 16 February 1958, was a civil rights organisation which campaigned for the welfare of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, and the first national body representing Aboriginal interests. It was influential in lobbying in favour of the 1967 Referendum on Aboriginal Australians. It was renamed to National Aboriginal and Islander Liberation Movement (NAILM) in the early to mid 1970s, before disbanding in 1978.
Dauan Island is an island in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia; it is also known as Cornwallis Island. Dauan Island is also a town and locality in the Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Dauan Island had a population of 131 people.
Masig Island is an island and locality in the Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Masig Island had a population of 283 people.
Paul Christopher Memmott is an Australian architect, anthropologist, academic and the Director of the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre at the University of Queensland. He is an expert on topics related to Indigenous architecture and vernacular architecture, housing, homelessness and overcrowding.
The Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders Advancement League, (CATSIAL), also referred to as the Cairns Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders Advancement League or Cairns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advancement League, and Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders Advancement League (Cairns), was an Indigenous rights organisation founded in Cairns, Queensland in January 1960. It existed until the late 1970s.
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