Bruce Lehrmann has lost his last legal avenue to challenge his failed defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, after Australia's High Court dismissed his application on Thursday. The court published a short judgment rejecting his bid to appeal the earlier ruling.
In April 2024, Justice Michael Lee found that, on the balance of probabilities, Lehrmann raped former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019. The judge ruled that Lehrmann was not defamed when Wilkinson interviewed Higgins about the incident on The Project in 2021, as the rape finding meant the defence of justification applied.
Lehrmann had previously lost an appeal against that decision in the Federal Court in December 2024. The full bench of the Federal Court of Appeal went further than the trial judge, suggesting that Lee should have found Lehrmann knew Higgins did not consent to sexual intercourse. The appeal judges dismissed all four grounds of appeal, including claims of procedural unfairness and errors in the justification defence.
Higgins, who was not a party to the case, posted a statement after the verdict, saying the decision “brings a measure of finality to a long and painful chapter”. She criticised defamation claims brought by perpetrators of sexual violence, stating they “re-traumatise victim-survivors” and called for legal system reforms.
Lehrmann was originally charged with sexual intercourse without consent in 2021 but pleaded not guilty. His criminal trial was aborted in December 2022 due to juror misconduct, and prosecutors later dropped charges, citing an “unacceptable risk” to Higgins's health. Lehrmann continues to maintain his innocence.
