Vale – Louise Voigt, children’s advocate

Louise Voigt dedicated her life to advocate for the rights of children in out-of-home care.

Ms Voigt had a long involvement with Barnardos Australia, where she was CEO and Director of Welfare for over 30 years.

During her life, Ms Voigt was a passionate and tireless advocate for child protection in Australia, and inspired the development of evidence-based practice. Many of the approaches she pioneered are now standard across the child welfare sector.

Ms Voigt’s strong sense of social justice for the most vulnerable in our community, which helped transform the lives of thousands of children in NSW, will long be remembered in the child welfare sector and among the community in general.

Her legacy includes the work she carried out helping vulnerable families at risk through easily accessible early intervention programs and to prevent the premature removal of children.

She received the NSW Association of Social Workers Social Justice Award and Lifetime Achievement awards from the Association of Child Welfare Agencies (ACWA) and the University of Sydney.

Our thoughts are with Ms Voigt’s family, who has requested privacy at this difficult time. A public memorial will take place in coming months.