Report into who in Prime Minister’s Office knew about alleged rape of Brittany Higgins due in weeks

An investigation into who knew what, and when, in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) about the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins is due to be finished within weeks.

Ms Higgins went public earlier this year with an allegation she was raped by a colleague inside then-Defence Industry minister Linda Reynold’s office in March 2019.

At the time, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he only learned about the allegation when it was made public, but Ms Higgins has said a staff member in his office reached out to “check on her” in November 2020.

As a result, Mr Morrison asked the head of his department, Philip Gaetjens, to investigate which staff in the PMO knew about the allegation, when they became aware and what they were told.

Speaking in Senate estimates today, Mr Gaetjens said the report, which was paused for two months after advice it could interfere with a police investigation, would be done within weeks.

“As soon as possible, but I think it’ll be weeks not days, but not months,” he said.

Mr Gaetjens refused to say how many people he had interviewed as part of the investigation, or if any had asked for legal representation during the interviews.

He would not confirm if the report would be made public, something the Prime Minister has has not ruled out.

Mr Gaetjens did confirm that he was scheduled to meet and interview Ms Higgins “soon”, after she had reached out asking to be part of the inquiry.

Labor Senators in the hearing also asked if three staff members in the PMO had been interviewed as part of another investigation into whether anyone in Mr Morrison’s office had backgrounded against Ms Higgins partner.

Backgrounding refers to the practice of briefing journalists with information that the source, including from a political office, does not want attributed to them.

In a separate hearing, the Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Reece Kershaw, said a brief of evidence on Ms Higgins’s case was being prepared.

“I have been informed by the ACT Chief Police Officer that a brief of evidence is likely to be provided to the [Department of Public Prosecutions] in the coming weeks,” he said.

40 reports made in wake of Higgins allegations

Commissioner Kershaw also told the hearing a number of reports involving parliamentarians and their staff had been made to federal police since February — when Ms Higgins made her sexual assault allegations public.

“As at 17 May 2021, 40 reports have been received by the AFP since the 24th of February relating to 19 different allegations,” he said.

“Twelve reports have been identified as sensitive investigations.”

The Commissioner said 15 reports had been referred to state and territory police for assessments, one matter was still with the AFP for “ongoing inquiries”, one had been finalised and seven did not related to electorate offices, ministerial staff or establishments.

He said two had been finalised but no criminal offence had been identified, and he did not say what the status of the remaining two reports was.

The AFP also could not say if any of the reports involved alleged incidents at Parliament House.

Report into staff support handed over

As well as the inquiry by Mr Gaetjens, Mr Morrison also ordered two separate reviews — one into the broader workplace culture at Parliament House, led by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, and another by the deputy-secretary of his department, Stephanie Foster, looking specifically at what support was available to political staffers and what processes were in place for dealing with complaints.

In a statement, the Prime Minister said Ms Foster had handed over her report, as well as recommendations, on Monday night.

“Her proposals and recommendations seek to ensure that processes are independent, provide empowerment to victims, and provide timely, effective and ongoing support,” Mr Morrison said.

Before her final report, Ms Foster recommended immediate action to establish a 24/7 confidential phone support line for all staff and parliamentarians.

She has also recommended a face-to-face education program to make sure managers and staff could recognise and respond appropriately to serious incidents or patterns of behaviour in the workplace.

Ms Foster also recommended that an independent and confidential complaints mechanism is created for serious incidents — something Ms Higgins also called for.

Mr Morrison said he would take the report to Cabinet and then engage with all parties to implement the recommendations.