Education Minister Alan Tudge has resigned from federal cabinet after stepping aside as a minister while an investigation was conducted into abuse allegations.
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Mr Tudge's former media advisor Rachelle Miller alleged he had been emotionally, and in one instance, physically abusive towards her during the pair's consensual affair.
Mr Tudge denied any wrongdoing, but told the prime minister he would not be seeking to return to the front bench "in the interests of his family and his own wellbeing and in order to focus on his re-election as the member for Aston".
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Dr Vivienne Thom, who investigated the allegations, found that the evidence in the inquiry "does not provide a basis for a finding that Mr Tudge's conduct breached the ministerial standards".
Mr Tudge welcomed the report, saying he requested not to return to the front bench before the election - due before May - given the impact the allegations had on his family and himself.
"In the meantime, I will focus on my health, my kids and my electorate," he said in a statement.
"I deeply regret the consensual affair with Ms Miller in the second half of 2017 when both of us were married with children and in our forties."
Ms Miller did not participate in the inquiry, saying the process was flawed and the government had ignored her concerns about the terms of reference.
She said the minister repeatedly chastised, bullied and belittled her, outlining methods of coercive control.
On one occasion, she alleges Mr Tudge kicked her until she left his bed after her phone rang early one morning and he became frustrated it woke him.
Mr Tudge categorically denied these specific allegations occurred.
The report also looked into a promotion Ms Miller received after the two started the affair.
Mr Tudge told the inquiry Ms Miller's experience and the size of the role warranted a promotion to a senior media advisor role.
"Mr Tudge said that he did not consider that he was in a relationship with Ms Miller at the time that he supported her request," the report says.
"He said that until the end of August (2017) he had been intimate with Ms Miller once in a manner which he considered to be inappropriate and which he thought would not be repeated."
But the report also noted that the ministerial standards are opaque when considering potential conflicts of interests with partners outside of family or ongoing relationships.
"Ministerial standards do not specifically address broader integrity and conflict of interest issues that can be a consequence of relationships that do not amount to ongoing or family relationships," it says.
The current ministerial standards ban ministers from engaging in sexual relationships with their staff but this came into place in 2018, a year after the affair.
Both parties have been supplied with a copy of the report.
Stuart Robert will continue in his role as acting education minister.
Australian Associated Press
