Defamation: Written or verbal statements that lower a person’s good reputation in the eyes of the community.

Absolute Privilege: Defence to an action of defamation, that the statement in question was made under a properly exercised (free of improper motive or malice) privilege in the performance of a legal or moral right or duty. For Example: If a husband is told something by his wife and he shares it with multiple others and the statement lowers her reputation, the wife could then use the defence of Absolute Privilege and sue her husband. Publication of public documents: It is a defence to an action for defamation to prove that the published material was a fair copy, summary or extract of a public document, but only if the material was published in public interest or for educational purposes. For example: A public document includes, reports by a parliamentary body, a judgement by court, government documents and reports open to the public.

Fair report of proceedings of public concern: A defendant can argue that the material was no more than a fair report of proceedings published for the information of the public or for educational purposes. For example: If a magazine or newspaper publishes a an article that lowers a persons reputation and the person decides to sue, the company responsible for publishing the article could plead that the article is an accurate account of the events and it’s not the article that lowers their reputation, rather the actions of the person. Qualified privilege: The defence of qualified privilege is applicable when the defendant: - Believes the person of defamatory information has a moral or legal interest in receiving the information. - Acts without malice or spite - Acts reasonably in the circumstances - For the court to determine whether the actions were reasonable in the circumstances a court will consider: - The seriousness and extent of the allegations - The integrity of the source of the information - The steps taken to verify the information - Whether the matter is of public interest or needed to be published quickly - Whether the information relates to the performances of a person’s public duties - The nature of the business environment in which the defendant operates

Triviality: The defence applies where the publisher can show that the plaintiff is unlikely to be harmed by the publication of the defamatory material For example: someone published that the thought Novak Djokovic was a better tennis player than Rafael Nadal. This wont cause harm to Novak Djokovic. Honest opinion: A defendant may claim that the defamatory material is an expression of his or her honest opinion (as a commentator) rather than a statement of fact. The matter must be of public interest and the opinion must be based on proper material. The defence is there to protect publishers who publish the opinions of third parties such as callers to talk back radio and letters to the editor. Justification: For the use of Justification to apply you need to have a defamation Statement that is substantially true. For example: A person who commits a crime in a crowd of 50 people cannot claim defamation if the publication wrongly states that there was a crowd of 30, as the core issue of the publication is true.