The board of inquiry examining the Parliament House rape trial released its report without government approval to some media outlets under an embargo, a process which has "harmed people involved", the ACT government has said.
An ACT government spokeswoman said the government would release the report formally early next week along with its interim recommendations.
Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury has also contacted Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC about the findings of the report, which is reported to have found the top prosecutor knowingly lied to a court and preyed on a junior lawyer's inexperience.
"The ACT is confident the report, either in draft or final form, was not obtained by media from government. The government has sought advice from the board of inquiry, which has confirmed it provided a copy to some media outlets under an embargo. This release was not authorised by or communicated to government prior to this release," the spokeswoman said on Thursday afternoon.
The spokeswoman said the territory government was disappointed the report had been released to select media outlets.
"The release of information about the inquiry outside of the government procedures has affected the inquiry process and harmed people involved. It further contributes to the ongoing public discussion of the matter that has been very difficult for all of the individuals impacted," the spokeswoman said.
The Australian reported on the contents of the board of inquiry report about 9.30pm on Wednesday night. The ABC published a story independently citing a copy of the report on Thursday afternoon. The ABC would not comment when asked if had received the report from the board of inquiry.
The Canberra Times contacted Mr Sofronoff for comment but did not receive a response before deadline.
The ACT government spokeswoman said: "The individuals identified in the Report and affected by its findings must be afforded procedural fairness, including the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The ACT Attorney-General is in contact with the DPP in relation to the findings relating to him."
ACT Opposition Leader Elizabeth earlier on Thursday said Mr Rattenbury needed to immediately sack the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Drumgold, if the reported findings of the inquiry were true.
"It is absolutely critical for the ACT's Attorney-General, the first law officer of our jurisdiction, to step up and take some leadership," she said.
Ms Lee also called on the government to immediately release the findings, a move backed by the union representing ACT police.
"An independent inquiry is exactly that - an independent inquiry. There is absolutely no justification for Andrew Barr to hide this report from the public," she said.
The Chief Minister, Mr Barr, had intended to table the findings of the inquiry and a government response when the Legislative Assembly sat later this month.
A spokeswoman for the Chief Minister said on Wednesday night, after the leak had been reported, the government still intended to table the inquiry later this month.
Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry declined to comment on the contents of the report or its release to The Australian, except to say the government would make it public at the end of the month.
But that plan had been scrapped by Thursday afternoon, with the government changing course and announcing it would formally release the report "early next week".
Mr Barr on Monday, the day he was handed the report, indicated he was not concerned about leaks from people named in the report while the territory's cabinet considered its findings.
"That's a matter for those individuals, if there are any and if they want to come forward. But I don't think they will," he said at a press conference.
