Greens minister Emma Davidson was aware of "rumours" circulating about Johnathan Davis' behaviour a week before party leader Shane Rattenbury was informed and commissioned an internal investigation.
Ms Davidson said a staff member brought information about Mr Davis' conduct to the party through her, and she defended a decision not to immediately refer the material to police.
"In order to be able to make referrals to other authorities, we needed to better understand the nature of the information that had come to our attention," Ms Davidson said on Monday.
Ms Davidson said she first received information a "few steps removed" from a then 17-year-old who has detailed allegations relating to a relationship with Mr Davis.
"I had no involvement in the investigation, or gathering, of information," she said in a later statement, which also said she supported staff in taking the allegations to the party's executive chief of staff "without delay".
Mr Rattenbury said he fully supported Ms Davidson's approach in taking the report seriously and treating it "with the respect and care that it deserved".
The Canberra Times on Friday revealed Mr Davis had been stood down indefinitely by his party after allegations he had sex with a minor and an inappropriate, but not illegal, relationship with a 17-year-old.
The Greens on Monday released an internal report that was handed to Mr Rattenbury on Friday, outlining the timeline of the party's handling of the allegations. The handling has been criticised by ACT Labor and the Canberra Liberals.
The report concluded Mr Davis had "undertaken activity which may be considered unethical and inappropriate, which does not align with community expectations and is likely to bring himself and the ACT Greens into disrepute".
"I was concerned enough by the content of the material and also felt that our organisation was not equipped to appropriately investigate the allegations being made, that I felt it necessary to report the matter to police," the report said.
The report, written by Mr Rattenbury's chief of staff, said Ms Davidson texted him on Sunday, October 29 to alert him to a "serious issue" she needed to discuss the following morning.
On Monday, October 30 at 8am, Ms Davidson and two other members of staff informed Mr Rattenbury's chief of staff there were "rumours circulating about Mr Davis engaging in inappropriate behaviour with younger people, and that it was possible that some of those people might be between 15 and 17".
"At this point, those rumours could not be substantiated and there were no individuals coming forward with any specific information," the report said.
On Monday, November 6, Ms Davidson, Mr Davis and Mr Rattenbury's chief of staff met to discuss the accusation and inform Mr Davis he needed to share the accusation with Mr Rattenbury.
Mr Rattenbury commissioned an internal review on Tuesday, November 7 "to establish the facts of what we know, rather than to decide on a course of action for Mr Davis".
It was later that day, the report said, the party first received any evidence of a specific complaint about Mr Davis' behaviour. The chief of staff met with a young person who detailed his relationship with Mr Davis, and later provided material that showed evidence of their relationship.
"This did not appear to be an obvious breach of the law," the chief of staff wrote. "It appeared that photos were exchanged, but at a time after which both parties had engaged in a physical relationship. At this point it was clear that Mr Davis knew that this party was 17 and not 18 because on 8 December 2022 he shared a COVID certificate with a birth date confirming his age."
The chief of staff wrote he was unclear whether illegal conduct had occurred and as a result felt obliged to report the information to police. This report was made at 10am on Friday, November 10, the chief of staff said.
"ACT Policing assured me that they would in the first instance talk to the person making the accusations and seek their advice on how they wished to proceed," the chief of staff wrote in his report.
Mr Rattenbury on Monday said the Greens were aware of the claim of sharing intimate images.
The Greens said police had made it clear the party was obliged to provide the young person's information, who would then receive support from police.
"We considered the legislation, certainly ACT law. We were not able to identify any offences, but again, acknowledging the complexity of the matter and particularly the suggestion of the sharing of intimate images, that was another reason we felt it was appropriate and important to report these matters to ACT Policing," he said.
Mr Davis resigned from the Legislative Assembly and the Greens late on Sunday night and declined to comment through a lawyer on the allegations.
Mr Rattenbury on Monday said Mr Davis had said he did not believe he had done anything illegal.
