By: Richard Leder, Georgie Austin, Blake Pappas and Zoe Burchill

At a glance

• Bruce Lehrmann has been allowed to appeal his defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson. The Federal Court dismissed the requirement for him to pay $200,000 in security costs before the appeal.
• The initial ruling by Justice Michael Lee found that Lehrmann, on the balance of probabilities, sexually assaulted Brittany Higgins, which the court acknowledged as an extremely serious matter, impacting Lehrmann’s life significantly if he were denied the chance to appeal.
• Justice Abraham stayed the enforcement of a $2 million costs order against Lehrmann, recognising that enforcing this could lead to his bankruptcy. The appeal is set to be heard in March 2025.

Bruce Lehrmann received the green light to appeal the result of his failed defamation action against Network Ten (Ten) and Lisa Wilkinson yesterday, with Justice Wendy Abraham of the Federal Court of Australia dismissing the respondents’ application for Lehrmann to pay security for costs in the amount of $200,000 prior to any appeal being lodged.

Lehrmann initially commenced defamation proceedings against Ten and Wilkinson over a report on The Project in February 2021, where Wilkinson interviewed Brittany Higgins regarding allegations that she was sexually assaulted by a fellow staffer in Parliament House in March 2019. In April, Justice Michael Lee ruled that Lehrmann had, on the balance of probabilities, sexually assaulted Higgins in Defence Minister Linda Reynold’s office.

In October, the Federal Court heard of Lehrmann’s impecuniosity, with evidence led that Lehrmann had been living off Centrelink payments and was essentially unemployable. Lehrmann submitted his financial situation was, in part, a result of Ten and Wilkinson’s respective contributions to his public image as a rapist.

While Ten argued it was not in the public interest to allow Lehrmann’s appeal, Justice Abraham observed that Justice Lee’s finding against Lehrmann was ‘extremely serious’ and ‘the impact on him if he is denied [the right to appeal] is self-evident’. This is despite Justice Abraham’s concession that any costs incurred by Ten and Wilkinson in an appeal lodged by Lehrmann would likely be unrecoverable.

Justice Abraham also granted Lehrmann a stay in the enforcement of a costs order made against him following the original proceedings, in which he was ordered to pay $2 million in legal costs to Ten. Ten had previously served Lehrmann with a bankruptcy notice with respect to the debt owed, however, Justice Abraham could not identify any prejudice to Ten and Wilkinson if the Court were to stay the costs order pending an appeal, while Lehrmann, on the other hand, would be declared bankrupt.

As we digest the written reasons for Justice Abraham’s decision published this morning, we note her Honour indicated yesterday that the Federal Court will be available to hear Lehrmann’s appeal in March 2025. In light of this announcement, we refer you to our previous article which outlines the lessons learned from Lehrmann’s original action and the inherent risks in bringing defamation litigation for prospective plaintiffs.