Brittany Higgins faces fresh grilling after blowing up during emotional day in the witness box where she admitted a series of lies she told about the night she was allegedly raped by Bruce Lehrmann

Brittany Higgins wore a white Kookai cocktail-style dress on March 22, 2019 - the night she alleges Bruce Lehrmann raped her.

Ms Higgins admitted she told police in early 2021 and the ACT Supreme Court during Mr Lehrmann's criminal trial last year that she put the dress in a bag under her bed and left it there for six months.

During the criminal trial, it was revealed that the dress wasn't under her bed for six months because she had worn it to a work function in May of that year.

In the Federal Court on Friday, Ms Higgins admitted the dress was actually under her bed for about five days before she took it out, washed it, and packed it for a six-week work trip to Perth.

Mr Lehrmann's barrister Steven Whybrow SC asked why she wore it again.

Ms Higgins told the court it was her favourite dress and she tried to 'reclaim' it.

'Sometimes you can shake off the association with and make it yours again, but I couldn't.

'It was my favourite dress and I thought I could disassociate it from the rape, but I couldn't.'

Mr Whybrow then showed her selfies she took in a bathroom at Linda Reynolds' birthday in Perth, which she then sent to her ex-boyfriend Ben Dillaway.

'I took the photos of myself in the bathroom because I felt awkward that night.

'We were rekindling things - I was trying to be flirty, I guess.'

Mr Whybrow said she sent 'thousands' of messages to Mr Dillaway, but never told him it was the dress she was allegedly assaulted in.

Ms Higgins told the court she would send Mr Dillaway 'sexts', but she never spoke to him about reclaiming the white dress.

Mr Whybrow suggested to her that she sent the photos to Mr Dillaway because she hadn't been sexually assaulted in the dress.

'I understand that is what you're suggesting to me, and you are incorrect,' she replied.

'You were exchanging personal, intimate details to each other ... you said you were working on your selfie game, and he was telling you how attractive you were looking,' Mr Whybrow said.

Brittany Higgins began the second day of her cross-examination on Friday morning.

Bruce Lehrmann's barrister Steven Whybrow SC asked her to recall a conversation with two officers at a police station in Canberra on February 6, 2021, with her now-fiance David Sharaz.

'Were you present when Mr Sharaz likened the behaviour of your workplace as emotionally abusive and gaslighting?' he asked.

'I've definitely used words to that effect but I don't recall if that's what David said,' she replied.

One of the first matters Justice Michael Lee dealt with in the Federal Court on Friday was Lisa Wilkinson's civil suit against her employer, Network Ten.

She is suing the network over more than $700,000 worth of legal fees, which she accrued because she hired top defamation barrister Sue Chrysanthou to represent her in Bruce Lehrmann's defamation case.

The matter was originally filed in the NSW Supreme Court, but it was moved to the Federal Court because it's directly related Mr Lehrmann's matter - which is already before Justice Lee.

On Friday morning, Justice Lee told the court he would hear Wilkinson's matter after the defamation proceedings concluded.

Mr Lehrmann's matter was originally against Network Ten and the ABC, and was set down for three-and-a-half weeks.

The ABC settled with Mr Lehrmann before the hearing began.

'Because the ABC claim has settled, I don't think we'll need all the evidence that was originally anticipated,' the judge said.

He told the court the defamation trial would likely conclude in about two weeks.

The matter is listed for final hearing at 10.15am on December 14.

Bruce Lehrmann is suing Lisa Wilkinson and Network 10 in the Federal Court over her 2021 interview with Brittany Higgins where she alleged he raped her in Parliament House in 2019.

While he was not named, he claims friends and former colleagues were able to identify him as the alleged rapist.

He has continually maintained his innocence.

The trial began on November 22 and Mr Lehrmann gave evidence over five days.

Brittany Higgins started her evidence-in-chief on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, she detailed her alleged rape in graphic detail.

Her cross-examination started on Thursday and will continue on Friday.