Mothers in Arms (2014) by Meg Hale gives the history of how mothers in South Australia established the Australian Relinquishing Mothers Society.

The story begins in the late 1970s & concludes with the setting up in 2006 of Post Adoption Support Services SA at Relationships Australia SA, a service to help those who have been affected by adoption plus formal apologies from government officials.

The women who established the Australian Relinquishing Mothers Society in South Australia were determined to speak out about the adoptions forced on them by a range of professionals & authority figures, including doctors, nurses, social workers & clergy.

Eventually the women were able to effect change through the law as, because of ARMS, South Australia passed laws (Adoption Act 1988) to give mothers the same rights as adoptees in applying for information about each other. South Australia was the first to pass such laws in the English-speaking world.

From p. 103:

“Over 12,000 adoptions had occurred in South Australia since the 1920s, & Adoption Services reported that by June 1989, 5100 people had registered to receive identifying information about their lost relative. Only 280 had vetoed.”

The then premier of South Australia, Jay Weatherill delivered at state apology on 18 July 2012 to those mothers who had never given consent for their babies to be adopted. Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered a national apology on 21 March 2013.