Higgins legal saga brought to a close with settlement
The Brittany Higgins saga was prevented from gaining further political influence after a workplace lawsuit was resolved. Former Liberal staffer Fiona Brown, former chief of staff to then-senator Linda Reynolds, took legal action against the Commonwealth in 2025.
He claimed the Commonwealth had failed to stop him from being embroiled in a political storm following Ms Higgins’ allegations that she was raped by her former colleague Bruce Lehrmann in Parliament House.
Ms Brown claimed former prime minister Scott Morrison and senior office staff did not allow her to defend herself publicly against allegations that she was participating in a political cover-up.
If the issue was unresolved, it would reach a Federal Court hearing in 2027, at which time Mr Morrison would be sworn in.
However, the issue was resolved with a secret agreement following mediation in early July.
The agreement also ends the final case involving Brittany Higgins, which has involved lengthy lawsuits and claims for damages since 2021.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Michelle Rowland said the government noted an agreement had been reached.
“Due to confidentiality considerations, legal professional privilege and confidentiality obligations, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time,” the spokesman said.
In a high-profile libel case in 2024, the Federal Court found on the balance of probabilities that Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins.
He later tried to appeal the decision but was rejected by the Supreme Court.
Lehrmann denied the allegation and said no criminal charges had been filed against him.
Separately, Ms Higgins marked the end of her legal saga on Wednesday by joining a coalition of 26 community services and legal academics in calling for reforms to allow adult sexual assault complainants to be given the option of pre-recording their evidence in NSW.
They argue that current court rules cause unnecessary harm and distress and have serious impacts on survivors’ well-being, healing and recovery.
“Justice should not require survivors to put their lives on hold,” Ms Higgins said.
“The option to pre-record evidence recognizes that each day spent awaiting trial is another day carrying the emotional weight of what has happened to you.”
