NSW police on Saturday confirmed they had issued a 66-year-old man, understood to be Jarratt, with a court attendance notice for the offence of rape.
Jarratt's lawyer, Chris Murphy, told AAP on Saturday his client's innocence will be easy to prove.
"I could ... win this case by lunchtime and he could get back to his life," Mr Murphy said.
"I have got documents I can put on the table that show it didn't happen."
Mr Murphy said the complainant, who is now 61, was a housemate of Jarratt and his wife.
She claims Jarratt raped her in September 1976 when she was 18, he said.
John Jarratt also starred in Quentin Tarantino's movie Django Unchained. Source: AAP
But, Mr Murphy said, Jarratt and the woman's ongoing friendship decades afterwards was at odds with her story.
"She remained living at the house after the alleged rape and then went with them (Jarratt and his wife), as friends, to Queensland," Mr Murphy said.
Jarratt is best known for his role in the movie Wolf Creek. He also appeared in the 1975 Australian classic Picnic at Hanging Rock and Australia in 2008.
The woman reported the incident to police in December 2017.
Jarratt described the charge on Saturday as "ridiculous and untrue".
"Mate I'm fine because I'm innocent. I'm good because I'm a good man," he told Nine News.
He is expected to face Waverley Local Court on October 10.
