Sarah Cato

Sarah has both a corporate and public sector background. Sarah has a business degree with a double major in strategic planning and leadership. She worked in the corporate sector for her early career before transitioning into public sector work in New Zealand and abroad.

Sarah has spent the last 15 years specialising in the investigation and prosecution of complex sexual crimes, gender-based violence, and offending against children. Sarah has 12 years' experience as a qualified survivor interviewer, trained in trauma-informed, survivor-centric interviewing. She was also utilised within the criminal sector to conduct sensitive interviews with all parties involved in serious criminal offending including homicide, violence, narcotics, and fraud cases.

Sarah joined the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historic Child Abuse in State Care and Faith-Based Institutions as a senior investigator focussed on sexual abuse of children within a faith-based context.

Sarah joined OSACO as a senior investigator at the start of 2022 and has dedicated herself fulltime to investigating incidents of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (SEAH) for OSACO Group’s clients across the humanitarian and developmental sector.

Sarah holds a Private Investigator's Licence. She is a competent presenter who enjoys training and mentoring others to become effective and ethical investigators. She has a passion for raising awareness in the space of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and is committed to upholding the rights and dignity of all parties she connects with during her work.

Key skills: Verbal and written communication, specialist interviewing – survivor and vulnerable witnesses, safeguarding, the ability to simplify complex issues.