Nathan Austin's ANU housing rape trial hears closing addresses

"I checked with her that everything was okay," the alleged offender said during a police interview.

His alleged victim maintains she never consented to any kind of penetrative sex.

Nathan James Austin, aged in his early 20s, sat and took notes while he silently watched the sixth day of his ACT Supreme Court trial on Monday.

The man, who was an Australian Defence Force Academy student at the time of the alleged incident, has pleaded not guilty to six counts of sexual intercourse without consent and one act of indecency without consent.

The incident in question took place at the woman's Australian National University housing in the early hours of November 26, 2021.

Parties agree on several details of the night, including Austin and the woman running into each other at Mooseheads nightclub after not having spoken in years, and that the pair went home together.

But at the heart of the trial is the disagreement and starkly differing accounts of "freely and voluntarily given consent".

Austin is accused of raping the woman in multiple ways, despite her allegedly setting out "crystal clear" physical boundaries.

While delivering her closing address, defence barrister Margaret Jones SC told jurors they had no reason to reject her client's account that any sexual activity on the night was consensual.

Despite how it was worded and how many times it was said being debated, Ms Jones accepted that the woman had indicated earlier in the night she did not want to have penetrative sex.

She said this fact and the woman's claim she wanted "nothing below the waist" while the pair were in bed became "somewhat redundant" when they kissed throughout the first instance of digital penetration.

"This would suggest she was actually consenting," Ms Jones said.

"One of those non-verbal signs that would indicate consent."

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The barrister said that to an outside observer, it might appear the woman had "changed her mind".

"It must have appeared thus to my client," Ms Jones said.

Austin claimed some of the sexual acts the pair engaged in were, in fact, the woman's idea and that he asked her to stop due to pain, rather than the other way around as she had told police.

Ms Jones said Austin had a "genuine belief" further acts were consensual.

"If you believe my client, you must acquit," the barrister said.

The alleged victim previously told police and the court that she tried on several occasions to avoid or stop penetrative acts, using excuses like wanting to go to sleep, not having contraception or being inexperienced.

Prosecutor Melanie O'Connell reiterated the woman's position of non-consent and said she repeated her physical boundaries several times before the pair got home.

"She clearly and unequivocally communicated the terms on which the accused was allowed into her home," she said.

"At no point did she retract those clear boundaries."

The woman allegedly told Austin: "If you're coming back for sex, then you can go home ... I'm not letting you in if you want to have sex, I just want to be really clear."

"Those are the words she said before opening the front door to her apartment," Ms O'Connell said.

The trial continues.

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