Saffin was associated with the Socialist Left faction of the party throughout her term, and was involved in advocating for progressive causes both inside and outside of parliament. She took a particular interest in the fate of East Timor and Burma, and was an official observer for the International Commission of Jurists at the 1999 independence referendum in East Timor. She was actively involved in feminist causes, and was one of only two Australian representatives at the Global Forum of Women Political Leaders in Manila in 2000. She also worked as an anti-nuclear campaigner, being involved in the campaigns against French nuclear testing in the Pacific and uranium mining at Jabiluka. She attempted to gain Labor preselection for a second term before the 2003 state election, but missed out on one of her faction's three winnable positions, forcing her out of politics.