A New South Wales police officer will now face a second charge over the alleged assault of Hannah Thomas, who sustained a serious eye injury after she was arrested at a protest in June.
NSW police said the 33-year-old senior constable, who last month was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, was on Wednesday also charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm.
The new charge carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison, and the maximum for the assault charge is five years’ imprisonment.
Thomas was arrested and charged alongside four others at a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney on 27 June that was attended by about 60 people at SEC Plating. Thomas, a former Greens candidate in the prime minister’s seat of Grayndler, was taken to hospital and underwent two rounds of surgery to her right eye. She will undergo a third at the end of this month.
Last month, prosecutors dropped all three charges against Thomas, who was later awarded more than $22,000 in legal costs. Charges were also dropped against three other protesters who were also awarded costs.
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NSW police’s statement on Wednesday announcing the additional charge said: “As police attempted to move on some of the protesters a 35-year-old woman sustained facial injuries and was hospitalised for treatment.”
Police are conducting a critical incident investigation – triggered after a person is injured or dies during a police operation – into Thomas’s arrest. The investigation is being overseen by the independent police watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.
The officer, whose employment remains under review, is due to appear before Bankstown local court on Tuesday 18 November 2025.
Separately, Thomas’ legal team is suing the state of NSW over the incident.
O’Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors announced earlier this month that their client would be claiming damages for malicious prosecution, assault and battery by police officers and misfeasance in public office.
“We are seeking redress not only for Ms Thomas’s individual suffering, including the ongoing injury to her right eye, but also to uphold the broader principle that police powers must never be abused,” Thomas’ solicitor, Peter O’Brien, said at the time.
The June protest took place at SEC Plating, which the protesters said was manufacturing parts used in the F-35 jet program. SEC Plating has denied this.
One of the charges, which police announced it would drop prior to dropping all charges, relied on a rarely used emergency power introduced in the wake of the 2005 Cronulla riots.
NSW police announced in July they were withdrawing that charge after a review into whether the charges against her were appropriate, and that she would instead face an additional charge of refusing or failing to comply with a direction – alongside her charge of resisting police.
The office of the director of public prosecution, not police, dropped all charges against Thomas last month.
