A jury has been told former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins is unavailable in the trial of her former colleague Bruce Lehrmann.
Mr Lehrmann is on trial in the ACT Supreme Court for the alleged rape of Ms Higgins, his then-colleague, in Parliament House after a drunken night out in March 2019.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denies any sexual activity took place.
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum told the jury on Monday morning that Ms Higgins was unavailable.
She said the trial would resume, but that the prosecution needed time to gather other witnesses.
The trial has entered its second week and is expected to continue for at least four weeks.
Mr Lehrmann's lawyers began cross-examining Ms Higgins last week, and were expected to continue.
