Brittany Higgins is due to resume her evidence on Friday in the trial of Bruce Lehrmann, who is accused of raping her on a couch at Parliament House.
The defence barrister, Steven Whybrow, began his cross-examination of Higgins last week, and she was expected to resume on Monday.
The court heard on Monday that she was unavailable.
The ACT chief justice, Lucy McCallum, has proceeded with other evidence in the meantime.
On Wednesday, McCallum told the jury that Higgins was expected to resume her evidence on Friday. She said other witnesses would continue to be called in the interim.
Lehrmann is accused of raping Higgins, his colleague and fellow political staffer, in the early hours of 23 March 2019 on a couch opposite the desk of their boss, the then defence industry minister, Linda Reynolds.
Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty and is fighting one charge of sexual intercourse without consent.
The trial entered its second week on Monday. It was initially expected to last at least four weeks.
But the court heard on Wednesday that proceedings were moving quicker than expected.
The Crown now expects to finish its case on Tuesday. Whybrow indicated he expected the trial to be finished by the end of next week.
