Is defamation a crime in Australia?

Defamation is mainly a civil wrong (a tort) under the uniform Defamation Acts. Some states also have a separate criminal defamation offence, for example section 345 of Western Australia's Criminal Code, which is prosecuted separately from any civil claim.

Can you defame a dead person?

No. Section 10 of the uniform Acts provides that there is no cause of action for defamation of, or against, a deceased person.

Does an apology mean I have admitted liability?

No. Under section 20 of the uniform Acts, an apology does not amount to an admission of fault or liability and is not relevant to deciding fault or liability.

Can I get exemplary damages for defamation?

No. Exemplary or punitive damages cannot be awarded for defamation (section 37 in NSW and Queensland). Aggravated damages can be awarded separately where warranted.

Who decides whether serious harm is proved, the judge or the jury?

The judicial officer decides the serious harm element, not the jury, and can decide it before the trial starts if a party applies.

Defamation Law in Australia: Elements, Defences & Concerns Notices

Defamation law in Australia allows a person to sue over published material that has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to their reputation, but the claim must start within 1 year of publication and, in every jurisdiction except Western Australia, only after a concerns notice has been given and 28 days have passed. The rules come from the uniform Defamation Acts, which each state and territory enacted from 2006 and most amended from 1 July 2021.

If you have been defamed, the first step is to record the publication (a copy, the web address and the date) and send a written concerns notice to the publisher. If you have received a concerns notice, the first step is to diary the 28-day period, because an offer to make amends must be made within it. Defamation Lawyers in Australia act for both sides of these disputes.

What are the elements of defamation?

A plaintiff must prove 4 elements to establish a cause of action for defamation:

Publication. The material was communicated to at least one person other than the plaintiff, in any form, including online posts, reviews, emails and broadcasts.
Identification. The material identifies the plaintiff, by name or in a way that readers would understand refers to them.
Defamatory meaning. The material carries at least one imputation that would lower the plaintiff in the estimation of ordinary reasonable people.
Serious harm. The publication has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to the plaintiff's reputation (section 10A, added by the 2021 amendments).

Each defamatory publication gives rise to a single cause of action, even if it carries several imputations (section 8). There is no cause of action for defamation of, or against, a deceased person (section 10).

Can a company sue for defamation?

Only an "excluded corporation" can sue, under section 9. That is a not-for-profit corporation, or a corporation with fewer than 10 employees that is not an associated entity of another corporation, and in either case not a public body. For an excluded corporation, harm is not serious harm unless it has caused, or is likely to cause, serious financial loss (section 10A(2)).

What is the serious harm element?

The serious harm element requires the plaintiff to show that the publication caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to their reputation, not merely hurt feelings. The judicial officer, not the jury, decides whether it is established. A party can apply for it to be decided before the trial, and the judge must then decide it as soon as practicable unless special circumstances justify waiting. If the element is not established, the proceedings can be dismissed.

The serious harm element replaced the old defence of triviality, which the 2021 amendments repealed.

Which defamation law applies in each state?

Every state and territory has its own Act based on the same model provisions, but they have adopted the Stage 1 and Stage 2 (Part A) amendments at different times.

Jurisdiction	Act	Stage 1 amendments (serious harm, concerns notices, public interest defence)	Stage 2 amendments (digital intermediaries)
New South Wales	Defamation Act 2005	1 July 2021	1 July 2024
Victoria	Defamation Act 2005	1 July 2021	11 September 2024
Queensland	Defamation Act 2005	1 July 2021	26 December 2025
South Australia	Defamation Act 2005	1 July 2021	15 December 2025
Tasmania	Defamation Act 2005	12 November 2021	16 June 2025
ACT	Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002, Chapter 9	1 July 2021	1 July 2024
Northern Territory	Defamation Act 2006	11 August 2025	11 August 2025
Western Australia	Defamation Act 2005	Not adopted (as at September 2026)	Not adopted (as at September 2026)

Section numbers in this guide are those in the NSW and Queensland Acts. The ACT, Northern Territory and South Australia number some provisions differently. In Western Australia, the unamended 2005 Act still applies, so there is no serious harm element, no mandatory concerns notice and no statutory public interest defence.

How does a concerns notice work?

A concerns notice is a written notice that must be given to the publisher before defamation proceedings can start (section 12B). Under section 12A, it must:

Specify where the matter can be accessed, such as a web address.
Set out the defamatory imputations the person says the matter carries.
Describe the serious harm to reputation caused, or likely to be caused.
For an excluded corporation, describe the serious financial loss.
Include a copy of the matter, if practicable.

A court document filed to start proceedings cannot be used as a concerns notice. The plaintiff can later rely only on the imputations particularised in the notice, or imputations substantially the same.

What must the publisher do after receiving a concerns notice?

The publisher has 28 days from receiving the concerns notice to make an offer to make amends (section 14). If the notice lacks detail, the publisher can ask for further particulars. When those particulars arrive more than 14 days after the notice, the period becomes 14 days from receipt of the particulars. An offer to make amends must be in writing, must be open for at least 28 days, and must include an offer to publish a reasonable correction or clarification (section 15).

If the aggrieved person does not accept the offer, the publisher has a defence if it made the offer as soon as reasonably practicable, was ready and willing to carry it out, and the offer was reasonable in all the circumstances (section 18). An apology is not an admission of liability (section 20).

How long do you have to sue for defamation?

A defamation claim must be started within 1 year of the date of publication in every state and territory. A court can extend the period only in limited circumstances. In Queensland, for example, section 32A of the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 allows an extension to no more than 3 years from publication if the plaintiff shows it is just and reasonable.

Two Stage 1 rules affect the clock:

Single publication rule. If the first publisher, or an associate, republishes substantially the same matter, the limitation period runs from the date of the first publication, unless the later publication is made in a materially different manner. For online material, the first publication date is the day it was first uploaded or sent.
Late concerns notice. If a concerns notice is given within the last 56 days of the 1-year period, the period is extended so the parties still have time for the offer-to-make-amends process (for example, section 10AA of Queensland's Limitation of Actions Act 1974).

What defences are available for defamation?

The uniform Acts provide 11 statutory defences, in addition to defences at general law (section 24). The defendant carries the burden of proving each defence.

Defence	Section	What the defendant must prove
Justification	25	The defamatory imputations are substantially true.
Contextual truth	26	Other substantially true imputations in the same matter mean the remaining imputations do no further harm.
Absolute privilege	27	The matter was published in parliament, in court or tribunal proceedings, or in another listed setting.
Public documents	28	The matter was a fair copy, summary or extract of a public document.
Fair report	29	The matter was a fair report of proceedings of public concern.
Public interest	29A	The matter concerns an issue of public interest and the defendant reasonably believed publication was in the public interest.
Qualified privilege	30	The recipient had an interest in the information and the defendant's conduct in publishing was reasonable.
Scientific or academic peer review	30A	The matter was published in a peer-reviewed scientific or academic journal.
Honest opinion	31	The matter was an opinion, not a statement of fact, on a matter of public interest, based on proper material.
Digital intermediaries	31A	The defendant was a digital intermediary with an accessible complaints mechanism and took reasonable access prevention steps (Stage 2 states only).
Innocent dissemination	32	The defendant was a subordinate distributor who did not know, and ought not reasonably to have known, the matter was defamatory.

For the public interest defence, the court considers all the circumstances. Listed factors include the seriousness of the imputation, whether the matter distinguishes allegations from proven facts, the integrity of sources, and whether the plaintiff's side of the story was included.

What changed for online platforms under Stage 2?

The Stage 2 (Part A) amendments set rules for digital intermediaries, meaning the people who provide or administer an online service through which someone else posts material. In the jurisdictions that have adopted them:

Exemptions. Providers of caching, conduit and storage services, and search engine providers, are exempt from liability in defined circumstances (sections 10C and 10D). A court decides the exemption early if asked (section 10E).
Complaints-based defence. A digital intermediary has a defence if it had an accessible complaints mechanism and, after receiving a written complaint, took reasonable access prevention steps within 7 days (section 31A).
Identifying posters. Courts can order preliminary discovery about the person who posted the material (section 23A).
Non-party orders. After judgment, or an interim or final injunction, the court can order a digital intermediary that is not a party to take access prevention steps, such as removing or blocking the material (section 39A).

These rules apply to the operator of a website, page or forum as well as to large platforms. They do not protect the original poster.

What remedies are available?

A successful plaintiff can obtain damages, an injunction, or both. Economic loss, such as lost contracts, is not capped but must be proved.

Damages for non-economic loss are capped. The cap started at $250,000 and is indexed each year by ministerial declaration, and the maximum is to be awarded only in a most serious case (section 35). Aggravated damages sit outside the cap and are awarded separately.
Exemplary or punitive damages cannot be awarded (section 37).
Costs follow the court's discretion, and the court may consider how each party conducted the case, including any misuse of a superior financial position (section 40).

Either party can elect a jury trial in the courts that allow juries, unless the court orders otherwise (section 21).

What should each side do next?

If you want to make a defamation claim

Record the publication, its location and the first publication date, with evidence of serious harm.
Send a concerns notice that meets section 12A.
Wait for the 28-day period for an offer to make amends to end.
File within 1 year of publication.

If you are responding to a concerns notice

Diary the 28-day period from the day you received the notice, and decide whether to request further particulars.
Consider removing or correcting the material.
Decide whether to make an offer to make amends, and assess which defences apply.
If you operate a platform or page, check whether the Stage 2 exemptions or defence apply in your state.

When to speak to a defamation lawyer

A defamation lawyer can assess serious harm, draft or answer a concerns notice and advise on defences within the fixed statutory periods. The directory of Defamation Lawyers in Australia ranks firms by city, and NSW firms that handle concerns notices and defamation proceedings are compared under Defamation Lawyers in Sydney. Defamation arising from a workplace dispute often involves Employment Lawyers in Australia, and claims that proceed to a contested hearing are also run by Litigation Lawyers in Australia.