Plain English guides to Australian defamation law.

What a plaintiff must establish: publication, identification, defamatory meaning, serious harm and who is entitled to sue.

• What is defamation? The elements of a claim in AustraliaWhat a defamation claim in Australia requires: publication, identification, defamatory meaning and serious harm, plus what does not need to be proved.9 min read
• Publication: who is legally responsible for defamatory materialWhat publication means in Australian defamation law, who counts as a publisher after Voller and Defteros, and how the digital intermediary reforms apply.9 min read
• Identification: a person does not have to be named to be defamedHow Australian defamation law decides whether a publication is about the plaintiff, including unnamed plaintiffs, shared names, groups and the irrelevance of intention.9 min read
• Defamatory meaning and imputations: what the words are taken to meanHow Australian courts decide what a publication means and whether it is defamatory: imputations, the ordinary reasonable reader, innuendo, context and social media.10 min read
• The serious harm element: the threshold most claims now have to clearWhat the serious harm element in s 10A of the uniform Defamation Acts requires, how it is proved and decided, and how Australian courts have applied it since 2021.11 min read
• Who can sue for defamation: individuals, small businesses, corporations and othersWho has standing to sue for defamation in Australia: individuals, sole traders, excluded corporations, larger companies, government bodies, estates, minors and bankrupts.10 min read
• Reputation: what defamation law protects and what it does notWhat reputation means in Australian defamation law, how it differs from hurt feelings, how bad reputation and convictions affect a claim, and the limits of the tort.10 min read

The pre action steps that resolve most matters, from the first letter to a signed deed.

• Concerns notices: what they must contain and why they decide most mattersWhat a concerns notice must contain under the uniform defamation legislation, the 28 day waiting period, further particulars and what happens if the notice is defective.9 min read
• Offers to make amends: the publisher's most powerful toolHow an offer to make amends works under the uniform defamation legislation, what it must contain, the 28 day window, and when a rejected offer becomes a complete defence.9 min read
• Apologies, corrections and retractions: what they are worthHow apologies, corrections, retractions and clarifications work in Australian defamation disputes, their effect on liability and damages, and how to negotiate them.8 min read
• Resolving a defamation dispute without going to courtA practical map of the pre action pathway in Australian defamation disputes: informal requests, concerns notices, offers, mediation, deeds and timeframes.9 min read

What a court can order, how damages are assessed, who pays the costs and how long a plaintiff has.

• Time limits in defamation: the one year rule and how it can be extendedThe one year limitation period for defamation in Australia, when time starts, the single publication rule, the concerns notice extension and court ordered extensions.9 min read
• Damages in defamation: how awards are assessed and what the cap meansHow Australian courts assess defamation damages: the purposes of an award, the $520,000 cap, aggravated damages, economic loss, mitigation and decided examples.10 min read
• Costs in defamation proceedings: who pays and why offers matterHow legal costs are allocated in Australian defamation cases: costs follow the event, standard and indemnity costs, s 40, formal and Calderbank offers, and security.9 min read
• Injunctions and takedown orders: stopping publication before and after trialWhen Australian courts restrain defamatory publication: the O'Neill test, permanent and mandatory injunctions, s 39A orders against platforms and practical takedowns.10 min read
• Suing an anonymous publisher: finding out who is behind a post or reviewHow preliminary discovery identifies anonymous posters and reviewers in Australia: the court rules, s 23A, what platforms hold, costs, and when it is not worth it.10 min read

Each of the statutory and common law defences a publisher may rely on, and what defeats them.

• Defences to defamation: an overviewA plain English map of the statutory and common law defences to defamation in Australia, who must prove what, which defences malice defeats and how WA differs.9 min read
• The defence of justification: proving the publication was substantially trueHow the truth defence in s 25 of the Defamation Act works: substantial truth, the sting, who carries the burden, the Briginshaw standard and what happens if truth fails.10 min read
• The defence of contextual truthHow the contextual truth defence in s 26 of the Defamation Act works after the 2021 amendments, the Besser v Kermode problem it fixed, and how courts assess further harm.9 min read
• Partial truth, common sting and alternative meanings: Polly Peck, Hore-Lacy and Lucas-BoxHow defendants plead their own meanings in defamation: the Polly Peck, Lucas-Box and Hore-Lacy doctrines, the NSW split, and how s 26 now does the work.9 min read
• Honest opinion: when a defamatory statement is protected as commentHow the honest opinion defence in s 31 of the Defamation Act 2005 works: opinion versus fact, public interest, proper material and how a plaintiff defeats it.9 min read
• Absolute privilege: statements that can never be sued onWhen absolute privilege applies under s 27 of the Defamation Act 2005: parliament, courts and tribunals, reports to police, schedule occasions and its limits.9 min read
• Public documents and fair reports of proceedings of public concernHow ss 28 and 29 of the Defamation Act 2005 protect publication of public documents and fair reports of court, parliamentary and other proceedings.9 min read
• Qualified privilege: statutory and common lawHow qualified privilege works in Australian defamation law: the common law duty and interest test, the Lange category, s 30 of the Defamation Act and malice.9 min read
• The public interest defence: how it works and how courts have applied itSection 29A of the Defamation Act 2005 protects publications on issues of public interest where the publisher reasonably believed publishing was in the public interest.9 min read
• Innocent dissemination and the new protections for digital intermediariesHow the innocent dissemination defence works, who is a subordinate distributor, and the Stage 2 exemptions and complaints notice defence for digital intermediaries.10 min read
• Malice in defamation: what it means and which defences it defeatsMalice in defamation means publishing for an improper purpose. This article explains how it is proved, which defences it defeats and how it affects damages.8 min read

What changed in 2021 and in the Stage 2 digital reforms, and where Western Australia stands apart.

• Defamation law in Western Australia: how it differs from the rest of AustraliaWestern Australia has not adopted the 2021 or Stage 2 defamation reforms. This article explains what still differs in WA and how interstate publications are handled.9 min read
• The 2021 defamation reforms explainedWhat the Stage 1 Model Defamation Amendment Provisions changed from 1 July 2021, when they commenced in each jurisdiction, and how courts have applied them since.9 min read
• The Stage 2 reforms: digital intermediaries and online publicationWhat the Stage 2 defamation reforms did for digital intermediaries, search engines and reports to police, when they commenced in each jurisdiction, and what remains open.10 min read
• Defamation law by state and territory: a comparisonHow defamation law differs across Australia's states and territories: Acts, numbering, reform status, juries, limitation periods, the damages cap and courts.10 min read

Which court hears a case, when a jury sits and what happens between filing and judgment.

• Which court hears a defamation case: state courts, the Federal Court and choice of lawHow defamation cases are allocated between state and territory courts and the Federal Court, why the Federal Court is used, choice of law and transfers.9 min read
• When does a defamation trial have a jury?When a defamation case is heard by a jury in Australia, who can elect one, when courts refuse, what a jury decides and which jurisdictions have no juries.8 min read
• What happens in defamation proceedings: from statement of claim to judgmentA step by step guide to a defamation case in Australia: pleadings and imputations, defences, serious harm hearings, mediation, trial, judgment and appeal.10 min read

Posts, reviews, group chats, journalism, court reporting and public figures.

• Defamation on social media: posts, comments, shares, group chats and reviewsHow Australian defamation law applies to Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok and group chats: who is a publisher, how courts read posts, serious harm, evidence and damages.10 min read
• Online reviews and defamation: a guide for reviewers and for businessesHow defamation law applies to Google, Facebook and industry review sites: writing a defensible review, who can sue over one, fake reviews and what courts award.10 min read
• Journalists, sources and defamation: shield laws and the newsroom's defencesJournalist privilege (shield laws) in each Australian jurisdiction, the newspaper rule, preliminary discovery against media and how sources affect the defences.10 min read
• Reporting on crime and court cases: suspects, accused people, complainants and contemptHow defamation law treats reports that someone is a suspect, has been charged or is on trial, the fair report defence, sub judice contempt and identification bans.11 min read
• Politicians, public figures and defamation: what can be said and what cannotAustralia has no public figure defence. How Lange privilege, honest opinion, parliamentary privilege and the public interest defence apply to criticism of politicians.11 min read

Workplaces, families, neighbours, gossip and what to do when a letter arrives.

• Defamation in the workplace: references, complaints, investigations and gossipHow defamation law applies to workplace emails, references, HR complaints, investigations and gossip, and why qualified privilege protects most honest communication.9 min read
• Defamation between family, friends and neighboursHow defamation law treats disputes between relatives, friends and neighbours: group chats, strata emails, community Facebook pages, police reports and family law limits.9 min read
• Gossip, rumours and repeating allegations: when passing it on is defamationWhy repeating a rumour, sharing a post or saying 'allegedly' does not avoid liability for defamation, how the repetition rule works, and what defences a repeater has.9 min read
• Receiving a concerns notice or a lawyer's letter: what to do in the first 28 daysA practical guide for publishers who receive a concerns notice: the 28 day clock, further particulars, preserving evidence, insurance, defences and offers to make amends.10 min read

Injurious falsehood, misleading or deceptive conduct, privacy, confidence and vilification.

• Injurious falsehood: the claim for businesses that cannot sue for defamationThe elements of injurious falsehood, how it differs from defamation, why larger companies rely on it, when injunctions are available and the consumer law overlap.9 min read
• Misleading or deceptive conduct and defamation: when the Australian Consumer Law appliesHow s 18 of the Australian Consumer Law applies to false statements about a business, the media exemption in s 19, who can sue, remedies and the contrast with defamation.9 min read
• Privacy, breach of confidence and the new statutory tort: when the problem is true but privateHow the statutory tort of serious invasion of privacy, breach of confidence and the Online Safety Act protect private information, and how they differ from defamation.10 min read
• Vilification, discrimination and defamation: different laws for different harmsHow racial, religious and other vilification laws and discrimination complaints differ from defamation, who can complain, the processes involved and when both arise.11 min read