The Peter Pan Committee is the main fund raising auxiliary of Barnardos and has raised many millions of dollars – funds which go directly to critical child welfare programs and services that help thousands of children and young people. The committee also contributes by raising public awareness and goodwill.  

The committee was originally established in Sydney in 1936 to support the ‘Free Kindergarten’ in Union Street Paddington at a time when there was no government funding for kindergartens.  In 1974, when government funding for kindergartens was introduced, the Peter Pan Committee decided to direct its fundraising to the support of Barnardos Australia.

The statistics are chilling: more than 45,000 Australian children are in care – unable to live in the same house as their parents because it is  not safe for them.  Every day there are more than 145 substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect and one child dies every 15 days in Australia as a direct result of abuse.  Barnardos is committed to changing this.