The ACT’s first Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People has stepped down from her ‘dream role’ after an alleged assault.
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts was appointed to the position in 2024 but has been on extended approved leave since July 2025.
She officially resigned from the role at the end of 2025 following months of questions about her absence in Canberra.
However, Turnbull-Roberts on Tuesday morning alleged she had left her office after being subjected to ‘sexual harassment and sexual assault in Canberra by a public servant’.
She cited concern for her ‘physical and psychological safety’ as reasons why she left the role and added she needed to act in the ‘best interests of my family’.
‘This conduct has no place in any workplace,’ she said.
‘Appropriate reports have been made, including 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.’
Several ministers had previously voiced their concerns about Turnbull-Roberts’ ‘persistent absenteeism’, reported the Canberra Times last month.
Indigenous woman Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts (above) has resigned from her role as Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People
She released a statement confirming her resignation on Tuesday
Turnbull-Roberts shot down the report at ‘incorrect and harmful’.
‘It misrepresented the reality of my decision and caused me further harm. 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. As a survivor, a mother, and a proud Bundjalung woman, I know what it means to be unprotected in systems meant to provide care. I also know what it means to choose safety when it is not adequately provided.
‘I escaped the child ‘protection’ system at 18, after being forcibly removed from my family and communities at 10 because of racism. 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.’
The article in the Canberra Times claimed Turnbull-Roberts had a ‘part-time presence’ in Canberra, writing: ‘There has been growing disquiet in the ACT First Nations community about the effectiveness of the [Commissioner and her office].’
Turnbull-Roberts on Tuesday said she valued her time as Commissioner, writing: ‘I witnessed extraordinary courage.
‘I sat with children and young people so often dismissed or silenced and watched them speak with clarity, strength, and spirit.
Turnbull-Roberts said she had gone on extended leave after she was sexually harassed and assaulted by a Canberra public servant
‘I saw, firsthand, the power of culture and language as protection.’
She also pointed to the accomplishments her team made during her short tenure including ‘strong public submissions and made headway on important work’ for areas including child exploitation, family policing, out-of-home-care and the justice system.
Turnbull-Roberts’ role was initially created to find ways to reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the ACT child protection system.
‘We named harm truthfully, and we placed critical issues on the public record. I am deeply proud of what was built together, shaped by care, courage, and love for our children,’ she said.
‘Watching my daughter play, I thought about what I would want her to know: we do not have to tolerate danger, we are allowed to leave, and our safety is never negotiable.’
Barbara Causon was appointed acting commissioner last October.
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