Bruce Lehrmann has filed a judicial review in the Federal Court against National Anti-Corruption Commissioner Paul Brereton and federal Special Minister of State Don Farrell, court records show.
The application, lodged personally by Lehrmann at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, asks the court to review the legality of a government decision. As of Monday afternoon, the precise nature of the proceedings had not been disclosed and no court documents outlining the grounds of the challenge had been made public. Lehrmann was contacted for comment but did not respond. Don Farrell's office declined to comment and the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner said it was inappropriate to comment because the matter was before the court.
Lehrmann, a former staffer for the Liberal Party, first came to national attention after Brittany Higgins alleged she was raped inside Parliament House in 2019. Lehrmann has consistently denied the allegation. A criminal trial in the Australian Capital Territory in 2022 was abandoned after a jury was discharged because of misconduct among jurors, leaving the allegation untested in criminal court.
In April 2024, Justice Michael Lee of the Federal Court found, in a separate civil defamation case, that the allegations against Lehrmann were proven on the balance of probabilities, the lower civil standard of proof. That finding was part of a high-profile judgment against Lehrmann in defamation proceedings he brought against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over a 2021 interview with Higgins on The Project. Lehrmann appealed the defamation ruling; the appeal was heard by a panel of justices in August and a decision has been reserved.
Lehrmann has faced extensive legal and financial pressure stemming from multiple court actions. Media reporting has indicated he is close to bankruptcy as a result of legal costs and judgments, and some proceedings remain ongoing. The new judicial review does not appear on public court lists with an early hearing date, and no public filings detailing the relief sought or legal arguments were available on Monday.
Paul Brereton heads the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the federal integrity body established to investigate serious or systemic corruption within the Australian public sector. Don Farrell, as Special Minister of State, has administrative responsibilities that include oversight of government integrity frameworks. The filing of a judicial review against both the commission's head and a responsible minister suggests Lehrmann is challenging an administrative or procedural decision, but the exact decision he seeks reviewed has not been specified.
Legal observers noted that judicial review actions typically seek to overturn administrative decisions on grounds such as procedural fairness, jurisdictional error or unlawfulness, but without access to the filings the basis of Lehrmann's claim cannot be confirmed. The National Anti-Corruption Commission declined to comment beyond noting the matter was before the court.
Lehrmann's public profile and previous litigation have drawn sustained media and political attention in Australia. The original allegation by Higgins and the subsequent legal developments have prompted wider debate about workplace culture in federal politics and the handling of sexual assault allegations within political institutions.
This is a developing story and further details are expected when court documents become publicly available or when parties file notices setting out the grounds of the review.
Support services: 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) and the National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service (1800 211 028).