Bruce Lehrmann, a former staffer for the Liberal Party, recently faced a setback in his bid for legal financial support following a raid by the national anti-corruption watchdog at his residence.
The 30-year-old’s home was searched by the National Anti-Corruption Commission in June 2024. The raid was part of an investigation into allegations that Lehrmann had misused confidential documents concerning French submarines, dating back to five years earlier. Lehrmann has firmly denied these accusations.
Seeking aid to manage the legal costs incurred from the raid, Lehrmann reached out to the federal government. However, his request for financial assistance was declined by Special Minister of State Don Farrell, a decision disclosed during a brief hearing in the Federal Court today.
Lehrmann, frustrated by the lack of response for over a year, had filed a lawsuit against Minister Farrell and NACC Commissioner Paul Brereton, aiming to compel a resolution through court orders.
Following the minister’s recent rejection, Lehrmann announced to the Federal Court in Hobart his intention to modify his legal approach, now pursuing a judicial review of the decision.
With a rejection now issued by the minister, the 30-year-old told the Federal Court in Hobart he would amend his case to call for a judicial review of the decision.
While mediation between the parties was called off due to the change in circumstances, Farrell and Brereton’s barrister Bora Kaplan SC said his clients would be willing to sit down with Lehrmann in the future.
The former staffer revealed he had also made a request for funding to federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland.
While a hearing has been set down for February, Lehrmann indicated he was prepared to call for an urgent hearing sooner, fearing Christmas raids from the anti-corruption watchdog.
The watchdog could retaliate after being targeted by Lehrmann’s lawsuit and had not given an undertaking it would make no further moves against him before February, he told Justice Brigitte Markovic.
“The orders I seek don’t prejudice a new NACC investigation if they think I stole US submarine secrets now,” he said.
In October, Lehrmann told the court investigators seized two personal diaries during the raid on his home.
He claims the probe was spurred by “frivolous, James Bond-like allegations”.
Lehrmann is accused of gathering the confidential information in March 2019, days after he allegedly raped his colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House.
He has denied the sexual assault claims, which remain untested in a criminal court after a 2022 trial in the ACT was abandoned due to juror misconduct.
But Federal Court Justice Michael Lee found in 2024 the allegations he raped Higgins were proven on the balance of probabilities and dismissed his defamation suit against Network Ten and presenter Lisa Wilkinson.
Lehrmann has appealed against the defamation loss.
