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Brittany Higgins’ big move in months before her crushing defamation loss revealed – as she makes a last-minute bid to stave off bankruptcy

READ MORE: Higgins’ lawyers’ personal messages to Linda Reynolds revealed

By NICHOLAS WILSON, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA

Published: 16:01 BST, 17 September 2025 | Updated: 16:44 BST, 17 September 2025

Brittany Higgins has this week lodged a last-minute appeal against a ruling she defamed former boss Linda Reynolds, as she desperately tries to avoid bankruptcy.

Reynolds had claimed a series of social media posts made by Higgins and partner David Sharaz in 2022 and 2023 led to her suffering health issues, damaged her reputation and stymied her career.

In August, the WA Supreme Court awarded Reynolds $315,000 in damages plus $26,000 in interest and Higgins was ordered to pay 80 per cent of her legal fees, which, combined with her own legal bills, is an estimated $2million bill.

Higgins in 2022 had been awarded $2.4million from the Commonwealth as part of an out-of-court settlement over the handling of her 2019 rape allegation against former colleague Bruce Lehrmann.

Two months later, she registered an ABN for the Brittany Higgins Protective Trust, which her lawyer claimed had been established to hold the proceeds of the payout.

As Reynolds’ defamation case was in full swing, the former Senator won a legal bid to obtain the details of that trust so that its funds might be accessed should she win.

However, public records show just a few months before Reynolds did win the suit, the trust’s ABN was cancelled, signalling it was no longer being used for business activity, and Higgins told the court she only has $10,000.

On Wednesday, Higgins’ lawyers accepted a bankruptcy notice served by Reynold’s lawyers, The Australian reported, but also lodged an appeal on the defamation ruling, meaning that any bankruptcy proceedings are stalled until after that is finalised.

Former Senator Linda Reynolds (pictured) was ‘mortgaged to the hilt’ to fund her legal costs, her lawyer has said

Brittany Higgins could be forced to enter bankruptcy after losing a defamation suit. She is pictured (left) with her husband David Sharaz (right)

Higgins’ lawyer, Rachael Young SC, claimed the trust was intended to hold the proceeds of the settlement and that there were no actual or potential creditors at the time it was made.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Peter Quinlan refused to rule on Higgins’ intentions in setting up the trust, but agreed Reynolds’ application to set it aside was the ‘only way’ she might have ‘any hope of recovery of any sum that might be owing to her’.

How much of the $2.4million payout, of which Higgins claimed she received about $1.9million, remains is unclear. Since it was awarded she has had a lavish wedding, international travel and bought a French home she later sold to cover her legal costs.

Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennet has told the court the former Senator was ‘mortgaged to the hilt’ to fund her legal costs – estimated to be over $1million.

In the judgment released last month, it was revealed Higgins offered to settle the matter with a $200,000 payment towards Reynolds’ legal fees to be funded by her parents.

The settlement, which Justice Paul Tottle claimed was ‘unreasonable’, had the requirement the women issue a ‘statement of mutual regret’ and that Reynolds donate $10,000 to a woman’s charity or refuge.

It is just one of the various legal cases that have played out for the last five years during the saga.

A criminal case against Lehrmann was abandoned after juror misconduct and he subsequently lost a defamation case against Network 10 and presenter Lisa Wilkson, who broke the story.

Reynolds is also pursuing separate legal proceedings against the federal government over the settlement it awarded Higgins, claiming it breached its duty to act in her best interests.

Daily Mail contacted Higgins for comment.

Brittany HigginsBruce Lehrmann

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Brittany Higgins’ big move in months before her crushing defamation loss revealed – as she makes a last-minute bid to stave off bankruptcy

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