Remembering Australian Childhood Foundation CEO Joe Tucci

The Australian Childhood Foundation has announced the sad passing of its CEO, Dr Joe Tucci, last Wednesday, 13 March.

Dr Tucci was a respected advocate for children who served on a number of government advisory bodies including the Australian Council for Children and Parenting, an advisory body to the Commonwealth Government.

He also served as the inaugural Chairperson of the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse, using his professional knowledge and experience of working in the field of child protection for more than 30 years.

With significant experience in child protection and working therapeutically with children, Dr Tucci was considered an accomplished practitioner-researcher and was a Clinical Member of the Victorian Association of Family Therapists and a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).

He graduated with Honours in Psychology (1986) and Honours in Social Work (1988) from Monash University, and served as a guest lecturer in child abuse and family therapy at Monash, La Trobe and Deakin Universities.

Dr Tucci held an Honorary Research Fellow with Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia (CAPRA) at Monash University, and in 1993 was awarded a Creswick Foundation Fellowship in Child and Family Relationships to work with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in the United Kingdom.

He acted as consultant to the Department of Human Services (Victoria) and the Department of Health and Human Services (Tasmania), Office of Children and Families (NT) on a number of child abuse and child welfare evaluative projects, and throughout his career demonstrated experience in developing and implementing child focused therapeutic programs and child abuse prevention campaigns.

In 2005 Dr Tucci completed his Doctorate into emotional child abuse at Monash University, and presented at national and international conferences on family therapy and child abuse. His academic writing has been published in both Australian and international academic journals and the broader media.

The Foundation was his life’s work, acting CEO Janise Mitchell said, and its team members were considered as family.

“Relationships and connection are the core of who we are. For this reason, I know his loss will be felt deeply. Joe meant something unique to all of us and we will all feel his loss in a range of ways,” Ms Mitchell explained. 

“He held two things dear to his heart - family, and the rights of children. His passion, heart and commitment to what our community could achieve for children and young people was evident in all that he did and we did together.”

As the Foundation continues to process the loss Ms Mitchell, who has served as Deputy CEO for a number of years, has pledged to “keep his legacy alive in what we will keep on doing each and every day.”

The family of Dr Tucci has requested privacy at this complex time.

The Sector sends its condolences to all those who were inspired by Dr Tucci’s advocacy during his extensive career.

Vale, Dr Joe Tucci.