About us

About the Women’s Safety Commissioner

Prior to commencing as the NSW Women's Safety Commissioner in 2023, Hannah Tonkin worked as an international human rights lawyer at the United Nations, as the Director of Disability Rights at the Australian Human Rights Commission, and as a barrister in London and Adelaide. She was also a lecturer in international law at the University of Oxford and University of Adelaide, and Co-Chair of the Women and Girls Rights Subcommittee of the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights.

Commissioner Tonkin holds a master's degree and PhD in international law from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and Honours Degrees in Law and Science from the University of Adelaide.

The Office of the Women’s Safety Commissioner

The Women’s Safety Commissioner is supported by the Office of the Women’s Safety Commissioner (OWSC) in the NSW Department of Communities and Justice. The OWSC works across three substantive areas:

• Policy and Programs
• Engagement and Awareness
• Relationships and Governance.

Relevant links

• YourGround NSW Baseline Insights Report (PDF, 23.7 MB)
• NSW Domestic and Family Violence Plan 2022–2027 and NSW Sexual Violence Plan 2022–2027 - Annual Report Card 2023 (PDF, 353.1 KB)
• NSW Sexual Violence Plan 2022–2027 (PDF, 1.7 MB)
• NSW Domestic and Family Violence Plan 2022–2027 (PDF, 1.8 MB)
• National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022–2023
• New South Wales Domestic and Family Violence Blueprint for Reform 2016–2021
• NSW Women's Strategy 2023–2026
• Media release: $100 million investment in women's safety
• Media release: First Women's Safety Commissioner appointed