Timothy Raymond Mathieson, 66, appeared remotely in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday from his lawyer’s office.

The court was told Mathieson was initially facing three charges.

He sat behind his barrister Brad Penno, who told the court Mathieson would plead guilty to one sexual assault charge.

The prosecution will strike out the other two charges.

Penno asked for Mathieson to be assessed for a diversion, which would mean he escapes a criminal conviction and has the case diverted out of the justice system.

The prosecution asked for two weeks to assess whether a diversion would be appropriate.

Mathieson will return to the court on August 31 for a further mention.

Mathieson was in a relationship with Gillard for more than 10 years but the pair are no longer together.

The pair met when he was working as a hairdresser, before he moved into property.

In March 2022, Gillard told The Advertiser they had broken up about 18 months earlier.

The couple lived together at the The Lodge and Kirribilli House throughout her three-year term as prime minister.

He was colloquially known as the ‘first bloke’, a reference to the tradition of the wives of US presidents being called first ladies.

-AAP