Timeline: Bruce Lehrmann
From 2019 to now, all the information, legal cases, controversies and alleged crimes surrounding Bruce Lehrmann.
March 23, 2019: Brittany Higgins is allegedly raped by colleague, Bruce Lehrmann after attending a work party. CCTV shows the pair returning to Parliament House together in the early hours of the morning. Higgins alleges that Lehrmann raped her in their boss, Senator Linda Reynolds office in Parliament House.
26 March 2019: Bruce Lehrmann is fired by Fiona Brown, the Senator's chief of staff. The basis for the dismissal was based on the late-night entry with Higgins and another unrelated incident in which he mishandled a confidential document.
1 April 2019: Brittany Higgins alleges that she told both Senator Reynolds and Fiona Brown soon after the alleged rape, including at a meeting on this date. Brown does not agree with this.
April 2019: After going to the police after the alleged rape, Brittany Higgins dropped the complaint in April 2019, fearing she would lose her job if she continued.
11 February 2021: Michaelia Cash, shadow Attorney General and Peter Dutton, Home Affairs Minister, apparently learn about the alleged rape but do not take action or alert the Prime Minister.
15 February 2021: Prime Minister Scott Morrison apparently finds out about the alleged rape.
16 February 2021: Scott Morrison issues a formal apology and writes a letter to Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese agreeing to independent reviews.
February 2021: Brittany Higgins goes public with her allegations and gives interviews on Network Ten and to news.com.au. She also asked the AFP to reopen the investigation.
April 2021: Bruce Lehrmann is interviewed by police.
30 April 2021: Brittany Higgins and Scott Morrison meet to have a “frank and honest” discussion.
6 August 2021: Bruce Lehrmann is charged with allegedly raping Brittany Higgins. Media organisations are now allowed to report his name.
October 2021: While out on bail, Bruce Lehrmann allegedly rapes a woman in Toowoomba.
5 November 2021: Bruce Lehrmann appears via telephone to plead not guilty at the Magistrates Court of the ACT. He is committed to trial.
9 February 2022: Brittany Higgins gives an address at the National Press Club alongside Grace Tame. It is aired on ABC.
April 2022: Bruce Lehrmann's defence team applied to have the trial halted indefinitely on the grounds that Scott Morrisons apology to Brittany Higgins endangered his right to a fair trial. The judge dismisses this.
19 June 2022: Despite warnings, Lisa Wilkinson makes remarks in her Logies acceptance speech that cause the trial of Bruce Lehrmann to be delayed.
4 October 2022: The trial of Bruce Lehrmann begins.
19 October 2022: The trial of Bruce Lehrmann concludes, and the jury retires to consider its verdict.
27 October 2022: The trial is abandoned after it is revealed that a juror brought in outside material. The matter is relisted for 20 February 2023.
December 2022: Shane Drumgold, the Director of Public Prosecutions announced that they will no longer be pursuing a prosecution, stating that “the ongoing trauma associated with this prosecution presents a significant and unacceptable risk to the life of the complainant.”
4 December 2022: Reports are made that both Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann will be seeking compensation.
13 December 2022: An agreement is reached between Brittany Higgins and the Commonwealth for an undisclosed amount.
December 2022: Bruce Lehrmann is charged with two counts of rape, alleged to have occurred in Toowoomba in October 2021, while he was out on bail. He is unable to be named at the time.
December 2022: David Sharaz, the partner of Brittany Higgins published tweets about Senator Linda Reynolds.
January 2023: Senator Linda Reynolds brought defamation proceedings against David Sharaz for tweets made.
April 2023: Bruce Lehrmann launches defamation proceedings against Lisa Wilkinson and Network Ten, News Corp and Samantha Maiden and ABC.
May 2023: Bruce Lehrmann and News Corp settle their defamation case out of court and the proceedings against them and Samantha Maiden are dropped. Lehrmann receives no damages and the articles remain online.
July 2023: Senator Linda Reynolds brought defamation proceedings against Brittany Higgins for the public criticism she had made about Reynolds's handling of the matter.
26 October 2023: After a suppression order was lifted, the media was able to report that the “well-known” Australian man who had been charged with two counts of rape in Toowoomba was in fact, Bruce Lehrmann.
1 November 2023: The alleged rape case is expected to return to the Toowoomba Magistrates Court.
8 November 2023: A strategic conference between Senator Linda Reynolds, Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz is scheduled in the WA Supreme Court.
22 November 2023: The defamation cases Bruce Lehrmann has brought against Lisa Wilkinson, ABC and Network Ten are scheduled to sit in Federal Court.
February 2024: Shane Drumgold vs. ACT Board of Inquiry is scheduled in the ACT Supreme Court.
Tomorrow on The Introvert Archive podcast we’ll explore the latest allegations against Bruce Lehrmann, as well as look into current legal proceedings.
