Defamation Law in Australia

The law of defamation strikes a delicate balance between the rights of freedom of speech and protection of reputation. In Australia there is no general right to publish statements freely and without inhibition. DEFAMATION LAW IN AUSTRALIA is an essential reference work for not only legal practitioners, but also publishers, journalists and students of this area of law. Following the introduction of the Defamation Act 2005, defamation law is now substantially uniform. The provisions of the Defamation Act 2005 are identified and explained and important topics such as reputation and freedom of speech are explored. A full reproduction of the Defamation Act 2005 is provided in an Appendix, together with a Comparative Table of Defamation Statutes, contrasting the previous legislation with the new Act. This second edition has been completely revised to reflect changes to legislation and case law, including an analysis of major High Court and Court of Appeal decisions relating to defences of truth, common law qualified privilege and fair comment. It addresses new developments in invasion of privacy law in Australia and explores topical issues such as the procedure to identify publishers of online defamatory material.