Human rights lawyer Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts has accused an unnamed public servant in Canberra of sexual assault and harassment.
Ms Turnbull-Roberts was appointed the ACT’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people commissioner in 2024, but left the role at the end of last year, two years into her five-year term.
Sexual assault support lines:
In a statement released today, Ms Turnbull-Roberts said she resigned from the role “for one reason only: my physical and psychological safety”.
“This in turn determined what is in the best interests of my family,” she said.
Ms Turnbull-Roberts said she was subjected to sexual harassment and sexual assault by a public servant in Canberra during her time as commissioner.
She said she had made reports to police, “and these matters are now with the relevant authorities”.
“This experience has impacted me in ways too shattering for language to fully hold,” Ms Turnbull-Roberts said.
The ABC has contacted ACT Policing.
Ms Turnbull-Roberts says she left her role as commissioner to protect her health and safety. (Supplied: Instagram)
Ms Turnbull-Roberts said she knew what it meant “to be unprotected in systems meant to provide care” and she needed to “choose safety”.
“I escaped the child ‘protection’ system at 18, after being forcibly removed from my family and communities at 10 because of racism,” she said.
“I have lived what children and families endure inside these systems.
“My focus since has never wavered: human rights, Indigenous rights, children’s safety, and defending mothers and families.”
Speculation ‘incorrect and harmful’
In mid-2025, prior to her resignation, Ms Turnbull-Roberts took extended leave.
The Bundjalung woman took aim at those speculating about her absenteeism while in office, describing it as “incorrect and harmful”.
“Taking steps to protect one’s health and safety should never be distorted or weaponised,” she said.
“No-one leaves work of this significance without reason.”
Ms Turnbull-Roberts says she’s proud of the work she achieved during her time as commissioner. (ABC News: Kris Flanders)
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Suzanne Orr has been contacted for comment.
Earlier this month, Ms Orr said in the ACT’s Legislative Assembly that Ms Turnbull-Roberts “resigned for personal reasons”.
“I would like to acknowledge the work that she did do in the time that she was in the role and certainly the important role she has been in, having been the inaugural commissioner in this territory,” Ms Orr said.
‘The work does not end here’
During her time as commissioner, Ms Turnbull-Roberts said she saw “spaces no child should ever be in: prison cells, punitive systems, and institutional failures”.
But she said that she was proud of what she and her team had achieved.
“I worked alongside grandparents and communities who continue to hold children with heart medicine and love, even through unbearable injustice,” she said.
“Our team made strong public submissions and made headway on important work including fighting child sexual exploitation, family policing/statutory out of home care, and criminal justice failures.
“We named harm truthfully, and we placed critical issues on the public record.”
She ended the statement with a message to her replacement: “To the next commissioner, I send strength. The work does not end here. It only continues.”