What are the uniform national defamation laws ?
A. Prior to the 1st January 2006, there was little consistency in the legislative enactments relating to defamation in the Australian States and Territories. With the exception of Western Australia, each jurisdiction had enacted legislation which specifically related to civil defamation actions. These enactments were often confusingly different. These differences became complex where a plaintiff was defamed in more than one State or Territory – for example, where a radio or television programme was broadcast nationally or a newspaper was distributed nationally. On 1st January 2006, the uniform national defamation laws came into effect across Australia. The common law of defamation continues to apply, except to the extent that it has been altered by statute.
