On Thursday, the jury in the rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann was discharged without verdict after one of the jurors was found guilty of "misconduct". It was discovered that a juror brought external materials that were not presented as evidence in court.
"It may be that no harm has been done, but that is not a risk I can take," Judge Lucy McCallum said.
According to the judge, a juror who uses external materials about a case may face criminal charges. McCallum added that materials that were not included in the trial were discovered by a court official during "routine tidying".
The new trial date set by the judge is 20 February 2023, in the event one goes ahead.
Before the jury was discharged, the trial ran for 12 days and 29 witnesses were questioned.
Bruce Lehrmann was accused of sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins - a former employee of the Liberal Party - in an office in the Parliament Building in 2019. He was charged last year after Ms Higgins went to the police, and he pleaded not guilty. Furthermore, Higgins has gone public with her claims in mass media interviews.