The man who assaulted and tied up a teenage girl before dousing her in petrol will remain behind bars after losing his bid for parole. 

Lauren Huxley, then 18, suffered life-changing injuries, including permanent brain damage, when she was ambushed by Robert Black Farmer, 39, in her Northmead home in November 2005.

The TAFE student was bashed repeatedly with fibro cutters and bound with electrical cords.

Ms Huxley was left lying unconscious in a pool of blood and petrol in the garage as Farmer set the family home alight and fled the scene.

Initially given a five per cent chance of survival, she defied the odds and relearned how to walk, talk and eat. 

Farmer was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison in 2008, which included a 20-year non-parole period. He became eligible for parole on July 31, 2026. 

But that was rejected by the NSW State Parole Authority at a closed-door session on Thursday, citing community protection concerns and Farmer’s ongoing denial of the  crime that shocked Australia more than two decades ago.

The board also cited the expert advice of the Serious Offenders Review Council, which said it was not satisfied that his release was ‘sufficient for his re-integration’.

The council recommended Farmer complete one-on-one risk mitigation sessions with a psychologist ‘given the horrific nature of his violent offence and his ongoing denial’.

Farmer has never admitted guilt or expressed remorse.

‘The authority recognises the profound and enduring harm caused to Lauren and her family by this offending,’ a a NSW State Parole Authority statement read.

‘We admire their courage and resilience, and our thoughts remain with them. We understand the concerns they have raised and that of the community.’ 

Farmer will not be reconsidered for parole until his anniversary date in 2027, but can appeal for a review of the authority’s decision.

Ms Huxley’s family have since expressed their relief.

‘I’m hoping that we can have a champagne and a toast,’ her mother Christine told reporters.

‘The build up has just taken a toll on us all but I think we can breathe again.’

The decision comes just days after Ms Huxley, now, 39, expressed her fears that her attacker could be back on the streets within weeks.

‘It scares me for sure,’ Ms Huxley told A Current Affair’s Ally Langdon.

‘Not just for myself, my family and friends, but also the general public. Because you don’t know… what is he capable of doing next.’

Her sister Simone agreed that it was too soon for Farmer to be released and that it reopened some traumatic wounds for the family.

‘We were grateful for the sentencing he got at the time but will it ever be enough?’ she said.  

Ms Huxley, who will celebrate her 40th birthday later this year, admitted she often thinks about how much different her life would be had she not been attacked. 

‘A little bit, but you know what, you can’t go back to the past,’ she said.

‘You’ve just got to move on and deal with what we go through in life.’