MELBOURNE, Australia — A Sydney rape case that dragged out for almost five years — through two trials, a conviction, two appeals and the suspect’s eventual acquittal — has set off a flurry of debate in Australia on what constitutes sexual consent.

The issue was reignited by a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s flagship news program, 4 Corners, highlighting the case of Saxon Mullins, who was 18 when she said she was raped in a nightclub alleyway.

On Tuesday, the morning after the television report ran, the attorney general of New South Wales, which includes Sydney, announced a review of the state’s sexual consent laws.

Mark Speakman, the attorney general, said that the state had a “systemic problem with sexual assault reporting and convictions” and that the conviction rate in such cases was around 55 percent.