Brittany Higgins engaged to partner David Sharaz

Former political staffer Brittany Higgins has been engaged to her long-term partner David Sharaz at a landmark tourist destination.

Brittany Higgins is engaged to her partner David Sharaz, who proposed to the ex-political staffer at one of the country’s tourist hot spots on New Year’s Eve.

Ms Higgins, 28, said yes to Mr Sharaz’s marriage proposal at the Cape Byron Lighthouse, the most easterly point on the Australian mainland on Saturday night, according to pictures from Daily Mail Australia. 

The pair’s engagement puts a positive note on an otherwise bleak year for Ms Higgins, who was the complainant in a rape case against fellow former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann in a trial that dominated national headlines.

Brittany Higgins became engaged to her partner David Sharaz at the Cape Byron Lighthouse on New Year’s Eve. Picture Instagram

The trial of Mr Lehrmann, 27, was aborted in October due to juror misconduct.

The prosecution case against Mr Lehrmann, who maintained his innocence and denied any sexual activity ever took place, was that he had raped Ms Higgins in the ministerial office of Senator Linda Reynolds in March 2019 after a night of drinking in Canberra.

On Sunday, Ms Higgins posted photos of her engagement on Instagram.

“So lucky to be spending a lifetime with you,” she wrote.

Earlier this year, Ms Higgins said Mr Sharaz, who works for Southern Cross Austereo, had been her “rock” and “best friend.”

Ms Higgins wrote on social media earlier this year that Mr Sharaz, right, had been her “rock.” Picture Instagram

Mr Sharaz was previously married to media adviser Alexandra Craig from 2018, before separating in 2020.

They divorced in 2021.

The retrial of Mr Lehrmann, scheduled for February in the ACT Supreme Court, will no longer go ahead after ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC confirmed the case would not be run again out of concern for Ms Higgins mental health.

Ms Higgins will pursue a Masters of Business Administration at the University of Sydney next year, while Mr Sharaz is employed at Southern Cross Austereo. Picture Instagram

Not long after that announcement Ms Higgins reached a confidential settlement with the Commonwealth over her claims that she had not been properly cared for by Senator Reynolds or Senator Michaelia Cash.

Ms Higgins is understood to be pursuing a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Sydney next year.

Originally published as Brittany Higgins engaged to partner David Sharaz