By: Richard Leder and Isabelle Ferrali Al Muderis v Nine Network Limited In a landmark decision, the Federal Court of Australia has sent a clear message to plaintiffs: think very carefully before embarking on a defamation suit. Background and details of the Al Muderis v Nine Network Limited case Last Friday afternoon, 8 August 2025, […]
By: Clare McNamara and John McPherson From 10 June 2025, serious invasions of privacy are actionable as a new statutory tort in Australia. The new tort was introduced by addition of a new Schedule 2 to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Note that Schedule 2 was inserted into the Privacy Act 1988 by the Privacy and Other […]
By: Richard Leder, Georgie Austin, Nicole Gabryk, Zoë Burchill and Isabelle Ferrali At a glance From 10 June 2025, serious invasions of privacy will become legally actionable in Australia. This marks a major reform, introducing a new privacy tort that allows individuals to bring claims for either intrusions upon seclusion (such as unauthorised surveillance) or […]
By: Georgie Austin and Deniz Coskundag Deeming v Pesutto (No 3) [2024] FCA 1430 At a glance Parliamentary Member Ms Moira Deeming was awarded $300,000 in damages after the Federal Court ruled that she was defamed by a series of statements and media interviews made by Victorian Opposition Leader Mr John Pesutto, following a rally […]
Google LLC v Defteros [2022] HCA 27 The High Court’s recent decision in Google LLC v Defteros [2022] HCA 27, combined with the next stage of the Model Defamation Amendment Provisions process, indicate a change in direction away from defamation claims against internet intermediaries. Google LLC succeeded in its appeal to the High Court of […]
In the wake of the High Court’s landmark decision in Voller, social media platform providers and their insurers are still awaiting clarity on the defamation issues raised in the case. The Voller decision confirmed that Facebook page operators were liable as ‘publishers’ for defamatory third-party comments left on their social media posts. However, the defence […]
Fairfax Media Publications, Nationwide News and the Australian News Channel are currently being sued for defamation in separate proceedings by Dylan Voller, a former detainee in a juvenile justice detention centre, over third-party comments made about him on their Facebook pages. Before determining whether the Facebook comments were defamatory, the NSW Supreme Court ordered that […]
