Justice Michael Lee found on the balance of probabilities Lehrmann raped the then 24-year-old in then-defence minister Linda Reynolds' office in March 2019.
In findings delivered on Monday, Justice Lee found Lehrmann was so "hell-bent" on having sex with Ms Higgins that he was indifferent to her consent and raped her.
Posting to her personal Instagram account on Saturday, Ms Higgins said: "I was raped - no judgement was ever going to change this truth."
"I lived with the shame, humiliation and fear of what telling my story would mean for my life and career, like so many other victim survivors."
Ms Higgins thanked Justice Lee for his "trauma-informed approach" and for "recognising that reactions to assault can vary wildly".
"I was devastated that a rapist was given a nationwide platform to maintain his lies about what happened," she said.
Delivering his findings on Monday, Justice Lee told the Federal Court "Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins".
While there was no evidence Lehrmann knew that Ms Higgins did not consent to the sexual activity, he was recklessly indifferent to her rights, the judge said.
"It has been five years of criminal and civil trials and government inquiries for the truth to finally be revealed," Ms Higgins said.
"It is now time to heal."
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