Three weeks after former Australian of the Year Grace Tame revealed she had lost professional income following widespread backlash over her participation in a high-profile pro-Palestine protest, the prominent advocacy organisation she founded is set to cease operations. The Grace Tame Foundation, launched in 2021 to uplift survivors of child sexual abuse and advance critical legal reforms across Australia, will wind down its operations in the coming weeks, its board confirmed in an official statement released Thursday.
The core driver behind the organisation’s closure is persistent, growing financial pressure that has made long-term operation unworkable, according to the board. Sustaining consistent, sufficient funding to support the foundation’s programs and advocacy work has become “increasingly challenging” over time, the statement noted. Since its founding, the organisation has left an indelible mark on Australia’s national conversation around child safety, earning broad acclaim for shifting public discourse and pushing through systemic change.
Key achievements credited to the foundation include driving landmark national legislative changes, leading the push to harmonise survivor identification laws across all Australian states and territories, championing mandatory anti-grooming education in schools, and providing direct support to hundreds of survivors navigating the justice system. Latest financial filings show the foundation held roughly $129,563 in equity, with core expenses allocated to critical survivor services including psychological support, legal assistance, as well as staffing and recruitment costs.
Tame, who serves as one of four board members alongside child safety scholar Professor Michael Salter, solicitor Michael Bradley, and fellow survivor Scarlett Franks, has long been recognised nationally for her unflinching, uncompromising advocacy on behalf of abuse survivors. She was named Australian of the Year in 2021 for her groundbreaking work pushing for reforms that allow survivors of child sexual abuse to speak publicly about their experiences.
The closure of the foundation comes amid a period of intense public and political scrutiny for Tame. Earlier this year, she sparked fierce national backlash after leading a chant of “globalise the intifada” at a pro-Palestine demonstration outside Sydney’s Town Hall. The incident drew widespread condemnation from federal and state politicians, as well as Australian Jewish community leaders, with multiple public figures calling for Tame’s Australian of the Year title to be revoked or reviewed.
Tame has pushed back against the criticism, framing the backlash as a coordinated “smear campaign” that has cost her paid speaking engagements and professional work. She has repeatedly stressed that she rejects antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of bigotry and hatred in any context.
Even as the organisation prepares to close, the board emphasized that the foundation’s work and mission will have a lasting legacy beyond the organisation itself. “The mission it has championed will continue through the many survivors, advocates, and organisations working to protect children and drive reform,” the board’s statement read.