AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw has confirmed that a “brief of evidence” around Brittany Higgins' complaint over an alleged rape inside Parliament House is likely to be handed to prosecutors in the “coming weeks”.
Mr Kershaw revealed the criminal investigation is reaching its conclusion before a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday.
Former Liberal staffer Ms Higgins alleges she was raped by a male colleague in then-defence industry minister Linda Reynold’s office inside Parliament House in March 2019.
“I have been informed by the ACT chief police officer that a brief of evidence is likely to be provided to the director of ACT public prosecutions in the coming weeks,” Mr Kershaw told Senate estimates.
Ms Higgins launched a formal complaint into the sexual assault allegation in February this year after publicly sharing her account with the media.
The rape allegation placed a spotlight into the federal government’s response to the alleged incident as well as the wider treatment of women inside Parliament House.
The AFP has also revealed that police have received 40 reports of 19 alleged incidents of sexual misconduct involving federal MPs and their staff in the wake of Ms Higgins' allegation.
Mr Kershaw wrote to MPs and senators in February about the need to report crimes and clarify the process for making complaints after Ms Higgins went public with the sexual assault allegation.
He told Senate estimates the new allegations included: “12 reports have been identified as sensitive investigations, 10 matters have been referred to state and territory police for assessment.”
Report into who knew what when due in weeks
The new revelations come as Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Phil Gaetjens came under scrutiny from Labor senators over the progress of a report into who knew about the sexual assault allegation.
Mr Gaetjens is investigating which staff in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) were aware of Ms Higgins' complaint.
He told a separate hearing the report is being finalised and is expected to be concluded within weeks, "not days" and "certainly not months.”
"I'll finish as soon as possible," Mr Gaetjens told the hearing.
The report is significant as Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he only learned about Ms Higgins' allegation when it was made public earlier this year.
But Ms Higgins has said that a staff member in his office had contact with her to check on her welfare in November 2020.
Labor Senator Penny Wong questioned whether the report would be made public after Mr Gaetjens said he had offered confidentiality to those interviewed.
“Whether that report is made public is not up to me it’s up to the PM,’’ Mr Gaetjens said.
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham added that: “full publication of such information may well compromise privacy or other factors.”
The response of the government prompted Labor senators to accuse the government of attempting to conduct “a cover-up”.
Mr Morrison has not ruled out releasing the report.
During his evidence, Mr Gaetjens did not confirm how many people he had interviewed as part of the investigation, or if any had asked for legal representation during the interviews.
However, he said he had interviewed all relevant people in relation to the matter.
Mr Gaetjens paused his inquiry after speaking with Mr Kershaw about the potential for overlap with police investigations into the matter.
Labor Senator Katy Gallagher questioned why it had taken so long for the report to be completed.
“Does it really take 100 days for the Prime Minister to get advice on who knew what when in his office about something,” she said.
Labor Senators also asked if three staff members in Mr Morrison's office had been interviewed as part of a separate investigation into whether anyone of them had backgrounded against Ms Higgins' partner.
This came after Ms Higgins launched a formal complaint with Mr Morrison's chief of staff to examine whether government staff have backgrounded against her or her loved ones.
Meanwhile, Mr Morrison has committed to act on the findings of a separate review of procedures on how to deal with serious incidents inside Parliament House.
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet deputy secretary Stephanie Foster was asked in February to look at the current processes inside parliament.
The final report found gaps in these arrangements when it comes to responding to and preventing incidents and providing support for those impacted.
The report's finding include calling for an independent, confidential, complaints mechanism to be put in place and a face-to-face education program for helping managers and staff understand their obligations.
With AAP
