Grace Tame has announced she is closing her child safety advocacy foundation, just weeks after claiming a “media smear campaign” had cost her engagements for the remainder of 2026.
The former Australian of the Year started the foundation in 2021.
The board said in a statement posted to the Grace Tame Foundation website on Thursday:
“The Foundation has reached a crossroads.
“Like many small advocacy organisations, sustaining long-term funding for this work has become increasingly challenging.
“After careful consideration, the Board has made the decision to close the Foundation, with the process to be finalised in the coming weeks.”
The statement also says, “While the foundation itself will close, the mission it has championed will continue through the many survivors, advocates, and organisations working to protect children and drive reform.
“We are deeply grateful to every survivor, advocate, supporter, and partner who stood with us. Because of you, the conversation around safeguarding children in Australia has changed. That work does not end here.
“Every member of the team is determined to continue advocating for survivors and working towards reform, each in their own way.”
Grace Tame’s foundation page.
Grace Tame closes foundation
In March, Tame revealed that her speaking appointments have almost vanished in the wake of her shouting “globalise the intifada” at a pro-Palestine rally the previous month.
Tame shared the information during a speech at the No to Violence conference in Hobart, saying that she had no further speaking engagements for the entire year.
“This is my last presentation of the year and it’s only March,” she said.
Tame began her speech by saying she does not support violence or antisemitism, adding that she does not support Islamophobia or hatred of any kind – despite what she feels has been presented by the media recently.
She added that she was “up against a well-oiled political machine.”
The professional speaker, who is paid for some of her appearances, attributes an “ongoing media smear campaign” to the cancellation of three of her engagements last week.
In a post on Instagram about it, Tame said she had “lost three speaking engagements on the theme of child safety due to an ongoing media smear campaign”.
Grace Tame speaks at a rally protesting the visit of Isaac Herzog. Image: Instagram
Grace Tame 2026 controversies
Tame courted controversy earlier this year at an anti-Israel rally against president Isaac Herzog after she led chants for “globalise the intifada”. She has insisted “intifada” means a “shaking off”.
She was criticised by a Jewish group who wrote a letter to the organisers of an International Women’s Day event in Bendigo and urged them to cancel her appearance as she caused “profound distress”.
She also drew criticism from multiple politicians including NSW Premier Chris Minns who described the scene at the rally as “distressing”.
Israel’s embassy in Australia also slammed Tame for what it characterised as her “dismissal of sexual abuse” perpetrated by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks.
The Grace Tame Foundation statement includes resources
If you are a survivor and need counselling or support, the services listed below may be able to assist. If you are in immediate danger, please dial 000.
SUPPORT LINES:
National: 1800 RESPECT, 1800 737 732
NSW: NSW Rape Crisis Centre 1800 424 017
QLD: Sexual Assault Helpline 1800 010 120
VIC: Sexual Assault Crisis Line 1800 806 292
SA: Yarrow Place (08) 8226 8787 or 1800 817 421 (outside Adelaide)
ACT: Canberra Rape Crisis Centre 02 6247 2525
WA: Sexual Assault Resource Centre 1800 199 888
NT: Ruby Gaea 08 8945 0155
Grace Tame. Image: Instagram