History

History of the Antony Kidman Foundation

The Antony Kidman Foundation has had a long and proud history of supporting the important work of The Kidman Centre.

The Foundation was established by the late Prof. Antony Kidman and was originally known as The Foundation for Life Sciences. Constituted as a company limited by guarantee, it was registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for- Profits Commission (ACNC) as a charity in the early 2000s.

In 2018 the name of the Foundation was changed to the Antony Kidman Foundation. This was in recognition of Prof. Kidman’s significant legacy in the field of youth mental health and, in particular, the work he undertook through the Foundation to support The Kidman Centre.

The Foundation has always been, and remains, a private philanthropic charitable organisation managed by an independent voluntary board. Prof. Kidman was the foundation’s initial chair. On his death in 2014, that role was assumed by Mr Philip Walker OAM who remained in that position until he decided to step down in 2023. He continued to serve on the board until retiring in 2025.In late 2025, the decision was taken to restructure the Foundation and to replace it with a charitable trust (formally known as The Kidman Foundation) and for it to assume responsibility for undertaking the charitable activities of the Antony Kidman Foundation.

This restructure did not result in any change to the management, administration, activities or focus of the Foundation. The board members of the Antony Kidman Foundation became the board of The Kidman Foundation and overall management and administration remains unchanged.

To reinforce the continuity of operations, The Kidman Foundation trades as Antony Kidman Foundation. The former Antony Kidman Foundation corporate structure is being retained for the time being until all required accounts, reporting and tax returns are finalised.

Thereafter, the former corporation will be wound up. At that point, we will also request the withdrawal of its registration with the ACNC. Both Antony Kidman Foundation and The Kidman Foundation have financial years ending on 31 December.

Below are copies of the most recent annual reports of Antony Kidman Foundation, from FY22 up to and including FY25. The reports for FY26 and following will be for The Kidman Foundation. Copies of these reports are also available from the ACNC website, a link to which can be found at the foot of this page.