Corruption watchdog clears Brittany Higgins's $2.4 million payout
Ms Higgins received a $2.4 million payout from the Commonwealth in 2022 as it sought to settle a compensation claim.
The former staffer had alleged she was not adequately supported by her then-boss, Liberal senator Linda Reynolds, after she made allegations she was raped at Parliament House.
Multiple figures had called for the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to investigate the compensation payout, including former opposition leader Peter Dutton and Senator Reynolds.
Mr Dutton had accused government figures of "duplicity" and "trickery" in organising the government settlement.
"I think there are very serious, very serious allegations here. There's a multi-million-dollar payout," he said in mid-2023.
Senator Reynolds had reportedly highlighted concerns about the speed of the mediation process and her exclusion from attending mediation.
The NACC on Thursday said an "extensive preliminary investigation" found no evidence of corruption.
"There is no evidence that the settlement process, including the legal advice provided, who was present at the mediation, or the amount, was subject to any improper influence by any Commonwealth public official," the statement read.
"To the contrary, the evidence obtained reflected a process that was based on independent external legal advice, without any inappropriate intervention by any minister of either government.
"There is therefore no corruption issue."
The anti-corruption body said it made multiple "notices to produce" to various departments and lawyers, and analysed thousands of documents relating to the settlement.
It found the initial legal advice on a settlement was provided to the Morrison government before the 2022 election.
Advice later obtained by the Albanese government was "not materially different" and there was no difference in the approach taken by either government towards pursuing a settlement.
The NACC also took no issue with the mediation conference lasting less than a day, finding that was not unusual given the substantial work done in the lead-up to mediation and efforts to "[avoid] ongoing trauma to Ms Higgins".
It also found the $2.4 million settlement amount was "less than the maximum amount recommended by the external independent legal advice".
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