Brittany Higgins' former boss settles case against Commonwealth after alleging the Morrison government failed to protect her

By CAITLIN POWELL - NEWS REPORTER and LUCINDA GARBUTT-YOUNG AND FARID FARID FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 01:07, 29 July 2026 | Updated: 01:12, 29 July 2026 Brittany Higgins' former boss has settled her case with the Commonwealth after alleging the Morrison government failed to protect her following Ms Higgins' allegations that she was raped in Parliament House. Fiona Brown was chief of staff to then-defence minister Linda Reynolds in 2019 when Ms Higgins alleged she had been raped by former colleague Bruce Lehrmann in Senator Reynolds' office.  Federal Court Justice Michael Lee found Ms Brown had shown compassion and integrity in her handling of Ms Higgins' complaint but had been unfairly 'vilified as an unfeeling apparatchik' seeking to cover up a crime during a previous court matter.  In his April 2024 judgment, Justice Lee found there was no evidence of the cover-up alleged by Ms Higgins but that, on the balance of probabilities, Lehrmann raped her.  Lehrmann has consistently denied raping Ms Higgins. A criminal trial was abandoned in 2022 because of juror misconduct and no findings were made against him.  After playing a key role in the defamation proceedings, Ms Brown returned to the Federal Court in November last year for her own case to sue the Commonwealth. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison was due to appear on the list of witnesses giving evidence. She alleged that she was stopped from responding to claims Ms Higgins was not correctly supported after she reported a sexual assault, according to The Australian. Fiona Brown (pictured) was chief of staff to then-defence minister Linda Reynolds in 2019 when Ms Higgins alleged she had been raped by former colleague Bruce Lehrmann Ms Brown brought proceedings against the Commonwealth, alleging she was not adequately protected during the fallout from the Higgins case. Former prime minister Scott Morrison (pictured) was due to be called as a witness  Ms Brown alleged she felt 'frightened and intimidated' after Morrison refused to speak with her after Ms Higgins' allegations became public, apart from one occasion when he said they had spoken.  She further alleged senior advisers to Morrison told her not to defend herself because it would 'kick the story along' and that senior male members of the government had 'thrown her under the bus'.  Her suit alleged staff 'decided to withhold' media questions for her and allegedly did not run a statement written on her behalf for the media past her. Ms Brown said in her filing that she experienced psychiatric injury, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depressive illness. The former chief of staff also alleged she took the blame as the Morrison government sought to respond to Labor's claims of a cover-up.  In a defence filing, seen by The Australian, the Commonwealth did not deny her claim but added that it 'does not know and cannot admit' the allegation. Commonwealth lawyers argued the prime minister and ministers make 'political, policy and governmental decisions which cannot be characterised as 'employer' functions on behalf of the Commonwealth'. In his April 2024 judgment, Justice Michael Lee found there was no evidence of the cover-up alleged by Brittany Higgins (pictured_ but found, on the balance of probabilities, that Bruce Lehrmann raped her. He has always denied the allegations They also noted parliamentary privilege and rejected Ms Brown's claim that she had been harmed.  If the matter was not settled, it would have reached a Federal Court trial in 2027, during which Morrison would be put under oath. But the matter was resolved following mediation earlier in July, with a confidential settlement. The settlement brings to a close the final litigation related to Brittany Higgins, which has included lengthy court cases and compensation claims since 2021.  A spokesperson for Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the government noted an agreement had been reached. 'It would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this time due to privacy considerations, legal professional privilege and confidentiality obligations,' the spokesperson said. Ms Brown's standing was also strengthened after the Supreme Court of Western Australia ruled in favour of Ms Reynolds in her defamation case against Ms Higgins, rejecting allegations that Senator Reynolds had participated in a cover-up. Separately, Ms Higgins joined a coalition of 26 community services and legal academics on Wednesday calling for reforms allowing adult sexual assault complainants to be given the option to pre-record their evidence in NSW, marking the end of her legal saga. They argue that current court rules cause unnecessary harm and distress, with serious impacts on survivors' wellbeing, healing and recovery. 'Justice shouldn't require survivors to put their lives on hold,' Ms Higgins said. 'The option to pre-record evidence recognises that every day spent waiting for trial is another day carrying the emotional weight of what happened to you.' National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028