Judge rejects Bruce Lehrmann’s bid for evidence from Brittany Higgins film
Material from a documentary featuring Brittany Higgins will not be made available to Bruce Lehrmann’s legal team ahead of his upcoming rape trial in Toowoomba after he lost a court battle.
Earlier this month, representatives of Stranger Than Fiction Films Ltd, the company behind the 2026 documentary Silenced, objected to Mr Lehrmann’s subpoena to turn over in-house documentary material.
The subpoena, issued in May by Mr. Lehrmann’s lawyer, Zali Burrows, requested a trove of production materials, including raw footage, unedited promotional materials, transcripts and distribution plans.
Ms Burrows argued the material was necessary to ensure a fair trial at Mr Lehrmann’s upcoming Toowoomba District Court hearing.
The former political staffer has been charged with two rape charges relating to an incident in the Toowoomba region in 2021.
He has not yet entered a defense and has previously indicated he will contest the allegations.
He told the court at the time: “This application is in no way intended to stop the release of Silenced. It’s just timing. He doesn’t want it to be released before or during the hearing.”
Ms Burrows argued the documentary was linked to Ms Higgins’ public comments and wider social media activities, which could confuse potential jurors given the nature of the case.
He also argued that raw and unedited footage of the production could be used in promotional material, which could lead to an injunction to protect against bias.
Senior Advocate Dauid Sibtain said that even if Ms Higgins had made public statements, this was not a basis to force the film company into production.
He argued that concerns that the material would be used to influence the proceedings in any way were “purely (purely) speculation”, that the presentation of the documentary made no reference to the Toowoomba proceedings and focused on other matters of Ms Higgins that had been made public.
He also noted that the film had also been shown at the Sydney Film Festival and asked Ms Burrows to attend a public screening if she wanted to learn the content of the documentary.
“If there was any concern that the release and distribution of the film would affect a fair trial, that horse has bolted,” he said.
Judge Deborah Richards delivered her decision from Brisbane on Monday and ruled in favor of the filmmakers.
“The film covers (Ms Higgins’s) personal experience and does not contain any information not already made public and does not refer to existing proceedings,” Judge Richards said.
“I accept that there has been significant publicity around the defendant… but I also accept that the film does not reveal anything new in terms of the allegations already aired by Ms Higgins.
“It also does not mention this lawsuit or the allegations made in this lawsuit.”
Judge Richards said the subpoena served by Ms Burrows focused heavily on Ms Higgins’ social media posts, which raised questions about its legitimacy in a legal context.
“Ms Higgins is not a witness at this hearing and whether she will be mentioned at the hearing is a matter for the defendant to decide,” he said.
“The fact that Ms. Higgins mentioned the film or this case on her social media accounts is not a basis for establishing a legitimate judicial basis in support of the subpoena.
“(The subpoena request) is based on the film being located in Toowoomba and the jury pool then turning to social media to link the film to this trial.”
The district court judge also questioned whether an injunction banning the film from being distributed in the Toowoomba area was possible and suggested such an application would fail.
The subpoena was set aside after Ms Burrows requested a week’s adjournment to allow submissions on costs.
