Walter Sofronoff KC outlines key dates for board of inquiry into Bruce Lehrmann trial

Walter Sofronoff KC, who is chairing the independent board of inquiry, has outlined a planned timetable in a newly published practice guideline.

The document indicates the board will hold a directions hearing on April 17.

"The chairperson will make general introductory remarks concerning the nature and scope of the inquiry," the practice guideline, signed by Mr Sofronoff, states.

Applications for legal representatives to appear at inquiry hearings will also be dealt with on that date.

The board is otherwise planning to begin public hearings on April 26.

"If circumstances change, this date may be changed," the practice guideline states.

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Unless the board directs that certain hearings, or parts of them, take place in private, the proceedings will be open to the public and live-streamed on the inquiry's website.

Mr Sofronoff was recently appointed by the ACT government to lead the inquiry, which will primarily examine the conduct of police and prosecutors during the abandoned criminal case against Bruce Lehrmann.

Mr Lehrmann stood trial in the ACT Supreme Court last October, having denied raping Brittany Higgins at Parliament House when the pair worked together as federal Liberal Party staffers in March 2019.

After juror misconduct resulted in a mistrial, ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC dropped the charge of sexual intercourse without consent over fears for Ms Higgins' mental health.

The end of the case triggered a series of explosive allegations about the way in which it was handled.

Mr Drumgold accused detectives of inappropriately pressuring him not to pursue Mr Lehrmann, then becoming "clearly aligned" with the defence of the charge when he did not take their view.

His concerns became known to the public when his office released a letter he wrote ACT chief police officer Neil Gaughan in circumstances that will now be scrutinised by Mr Sofronoff.

Mr Sofronoff, who will be assisted by fellow Queensland barristers Erin Longbottom KC and Joshua Jones, has been given wide-ranging terms of reference.

They include whether police or the Director of Public Prosecutions breached, or failed to act in accordance with, their duties during the high-profile case.

If he finds they did, Mr Sofronoff must turn his mind to "the reasons and motives" behind why.

Other terms of reference include the circumstances in which Mr Drumgold's letter was released under freedom of information laws, and whether Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates acted appropriately while supporting Ms Higgins in relation to the trial.

Mr Sofronoff is due to provide Chief Minister Andrew Barr with his findings before the end of June.

Last week, he asked "anyone with information that might help" his inquiry to make a written submission or contact the board's executive director, Helen Banks, via BOI.Information@inquiry.act.gov.au.

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