Lehrmann inquiry head engaged in ‘serious corrupt conduct’

Sofronoff was invited to head up a Board of Inquiry into the ACT criminal justice system, including the conduct of then Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold.

Fellow Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins had alleged that Lehrmann had raped her at Parliament House in Canberra in 2019. Lehrmann’s trial in the ACT Supreme Court was discontinued due to juror misconduct and the prosecution was later abandoned.

In defamation proceedings last year, the Federal Court found that on the balance of probabilities, Lehrmann had raped Higgins. These findings are currently the subject of an appeal by Lehrmann.

Sofronoff’s report, which was highly critical of Drumgold, was handed to ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr on 31 July 2023. Less than an hour later, Sofronoff sent a copy to Janet Albrechtsen from The Australian. Two days later, he provided a copy to Elizabeth Byrne from the ABC.

Under the ACT Inquiries Act, the report was to be provided only to the Chief Minister, who would then determine the timing and extent of publication.

The Integrity Commission’s report says on 2 August 2023, Albrechtsen phoned Sofronoff to say that she and a colleague had obtained a copy of the report from another source and would publish a story on its contents. Two articles based on the report were published by The Australian that evening.

The report was publicly released on 7 August 2023 by the Chief Minister and the Attorney General.

Sofronoff later stated, “it was crucial to make certain that responsible journalists had an opportunity to read, understand and digest the significance of the report in good time to be able to report upon it once the government released it.”

The Integrity Commission report found “The provision to Ms Albrechtsen of the Report was part of a pattern of contact by Mr Sofronoff which included a very large number of communications with her throughout the course of the inquiry.” This included witness statements, some subject to non-publication orders and legal professional privilege, drafts of the inquiry report and notices of adverse findings against Shane Drumgold.

“Since adverse findings were capable of seriously affecting personal and professional reputation, strict adherence to confidentiality measures … was essential,” the commission’s report states.

The report says the fact that Drumgold’s response was not provided to Albrechtsen, suggests Sofronoff had disclosed material not to inform Albrechtsen of the issues, but to “support her strongly held opinions”.

Last year, the ACT Supreme Court found Sofronoff’s conduct had given rise to an apprehension of bias.

The Integrity Commission concluded that Sofronoff’s conduct “significantly compromised the integrity of the Inquiry …”

According to the commission, Drumgold and the Chief Minister could not take protective legal action, because the disclosures were “dishonestly concealed”. It also found Sofronoff’s conduct could have justified his removal from the inquiry.

“[T]he Commission concludes that he had not … acted in good faith and that his conduct, amounting to corrupt conduct within the meaning of the IC Act, undermined the integrity of the Board’s processes and the fairness and probity of its proceedings to such an extent as to have been likely to have threatened public confidence in the integrity of that aspect of public administration. It therefore constituted serious corrupt conduct.”

Sofronoff has now launched Federal Court proceedings against the ACT Integrity Commission, seeking a judicial review.