Bruce Lehrmann, a former staffer for the Liberal Party, has submitted a new application to the Federal Court. This application is directed at Special Minister of State Don Farrell and Paul Brereton, the Commissioner of the National Anti-Corruption Commission. The nature of the application is for judicial review, but specific details regarding the background have not been disclosed.

Lehrmann is currently awaiting a decision on his appeal concerning a previous defamation case against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson. This case arose from an interview in which Brittany Higgins alleged that she was raped at Parliament House in 2019.

Lehrmann was tried by a jury in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), but the trial was abandoned due to juror misconduct, resulting in no findings against him. Following this, he pursued a defamation claim in the Federal Court, asserting that he was defamed by Network Ten and Wilkinson during the broadcast. However, the court concluded that, on the balance of probabilities, he did rape Higgins on the night in question, which effectively ended the defamation case.

In his recent appeal, Lehrmann is seeking to overturn the court's ruling. The timeline for when the court will issue a decision on this matter remains unclear.