Corruption watchdog finds no wrongdoing in Brittany Higgins' $2.4 million payout

Retiring Senator Linda Reynolds says she is "bitterly disappointed" in the national corruption watchdog's finding of no wrongdoing in the Commonwealth's $2.4 million settlement to her former staffer Brittany Higgins over her alleged rape at Parliament House.

Higgins received the payout from the Commonwealth, under the direction of then-attorney-general Mark Dreyfus, to settle a compensation claim in 2022.

She was compensated for her loss of earning capacity, legal costs, medical expenses, domestic assistance and hurt, distress and humiliation as a result of her alleged sexual assault by former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.

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The National Anti-Corruption Commission conducted an "extensive" preliminary investigation into claims of inappropriate behaviour by the Labor government and found there was no evidence of corruption.

"There is no evidence that the settlement process, including the legal advice provided, who was present at the mediation, or the amount, was subject to any improper influence by any Commonwealth public official," the commission said in a statement today.

"To the contrary, the evidence obtained reflected a process that was based on independent external legal advice, without any inappropriate intervention by any minister of either government.

"There is therefore no corruption issue."

The commission found that initial legal and external advice on a settlement was provided to the Morrison government before the 2022 federal election.

The advice received by the newly elected Albanese government had "no material difference" and there was no "identifiable difference in approach" to the matter.

"There was no material difference in the updated legal advice later provided to the new Labor government," the commission said.

"Nor was there any identifiable difference in approach to the matter before and after the change in government.

"There was no inappropriate intervention in the process by or on behalf of any minister."

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According to the findings, the one-day mediation conference was consistent with departmental advice, informed by legal advice and the result of a 12-month process.

The $2.4 million figure was also less than the maximum amount recommended by the external and independent legal advice.

"A critical consideration during the settlement process was avoiding ongoing trauma to Ms Higgins," the commission said.

The commission concluded that there was no evidence of improper influence by any government official during the settlement process, including the legal advice, who was involved with the mediation or the amount of the payout.

"To the contrary, the evidence obtained reflected a process that was based on independent external legal advice, without any inappropriate intervention by any minister of either government," the commission said.

The $2.4 million settlement came after Higgins' allegations that the Commonwealth failed in its duty of care and that Reynolds, as her then-boss, had mishandled her situation.

Reynolds has launched a lawsuit against the Commonwealth, claiming to have been prepared to defend herself against Higgins' claims before Dreyfus stepped in and settled the matter.

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In a statement, Reynolds said she was "bitterly disappointed" by the commission's decision not to investigate the circumstances around the settlement.

"My primary concern has always been how the Commonwealth could possibly settle unsubstantiated and statute barred claims made against me, alleging egregious conduct on my part without taking a single statement from me or speaking to me at all," she said.

"I fail to understand how the Commonwealth and its lawyers could not appreciate the serious and probable consequences of settling such serious allegations on my behalf, which included claims for gender-based discrimination, disability discrimination and victimisation and the message that it would send to the public about the truth of those matters."

Reynolds added that the commission's probe into corruption was a different issue from whether there had been a breach of duty, misfeasance or negligence by the Commonwealth.

"This distinction further reinforces the importance of my decision to pursue these issues in the Federal Court," she said.

Reynolds also has a separate defamation case against Higgins over a series of social media posts in 2023.

The Western Australian Supreme Court is preparing to hand down its judgment on Reynolds' defamation case.

Lehrmann's criminal trial for the alleged rape of Higgins was aborted in 2022 due to juror misconduct and the charges were later dropped over concerns for Higgins' mental health.

A later Federal Court defamation case brought by Lehrmann against Network 10 and journalist Lisa Wilkinson failed after Justice Michael Lee found, on the balance of probabilities, Lehrmann had raped Higgins.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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