The man accused  will face a criminal charge in an ACT court over the 2019 incident.

Australian Federal Police issued a statement on Friday say a 26-year-old man had been summonsed to appear before the ACT Magistrates Court for the alleged sexual assault.

Police will allege the man had sexual intercourse with a woman without consent at Parliament House on March 23, 2019.

Officers on Friday served the man’s lawyer with a summons to appear in court on September 16.

He will face one charge of sexual intercourse without consent with a maximum penalty of 12 years’ jail.

Higgins went public with the allegation in February triggering a firestorm over a toxic culture in federal politics and national debate about the treatment of women.

She alleged she was raped by a colleague while working for then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds.

Police said detectives from the sexual assault and child abuse team first received a report on April 2019.

“The investigation remained open and in February 2021 a formal complaint was made,” they said in a statement.

“Detectives have since spoken to a number of witnesses and collected evidence as part of the investigation.”