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Rosie Batty resigns, Luke Batty Foundation to wind down operations

Ms Batty will now sit as chairwoman of the Victim Survivor's Advisory Council in Victoria.

Ms Batty will now sit as chairwoman of the Victim Survivor's Advisory Council in Victoria. Photo: AAP

Rosie Batty says she will step down as chief executive and close the doors of the family violence foundation she set up in honour of her slain son Luke.

The former Australian of the Year said running the Luke Batty Foundation had been a, “gruelling and unrelenting four years”.

“Unfortunately I realise that I can’t keep going at this pace forever. It is unsustainable and I am tired,” Ms Batty wrote in a statement.

“I now need to prioritise my self-care and recognise my limitations – advice that has been given to me by trusted friends for some time.”

Ms Batty said she needed time to, “mourn and remember Luke”.

According to a statement on the foundation’s website, no further donations will be accepted.

The board voiced its support for Ms Batty and said it had appointed a transitional chief executive to oversee the completion of current projects, assess whether other longer-term projects should be reconsidered, and distribute funds to appropriate not-for-profit family violence initiatives.

“Out of the most harrowing of circumstances, Rosie emerged as a leading voice calling for societal change to the way that we speak about, respond to and work to prevent domestic and family violence,” Luke Batty Foundation chairman Andrew Fairley said.

Ms Batty’s son was killed by his father at an oval south-east of Melbourne in February 2014.

Luke’s father was shot by police at the scene and died in hospital.
Ms Batty was thrust into the media spotlight where she became a vocal anti-family-violence campaigner.

Her efforts since her son’s death helped to trigger a royal commission into family violence.

Ms Batty said she intended to explore opportunities “that don’t require me to be in the public eye quite so much,” and will sit as chairwoman of the Victim Survivor’s Advisory Council in Victoria.

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