Australian Capital Territory

defamation act 1901 
(NEW SOUTH WALES)
This consolidation has been prepared by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel’s Office
Updated as at 9 December 1998
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section
Part I—Preliminary
	1.	Short title
Part II—Civil Proceedings
	3.	Right of action for oral slander
	4.	Proviso where plaintiff’s character not likely to be injured
	5.	Evidence of apology admissible in mitigation
	6.	Truth no defence unless public benefit
	7.	Payment into Court
	8.	Defence of apology and payment into Court
	9.	Costs on verdict for less than $4
Part III—Criminal Proceedings
	10.	Libel with intent to extort money
	11.	Malicious publication of false defamatory libel
	12.	Malicious publication of defamatory libel
	13.	Plea of truth and public benefit
	14.	Court may consider whether guilt aggravated by plea
	15.	Truth not a defence except under plea of justification
	16.	Plea of not guilty available
	17.	Defence of absence of authority, knowledge etc.
	18.	Costs on private prosecution for libel

Part V—Remedies of judgment creditors
	23.	Execution against presses etc.
Part VI—Miscellaneous
	26.	Certain defences not available if this Act not complied with

Australian Capital Territory

defamation act 1901
(NEW SOUTH WALES)
An Act to consolidate the statutes relating to defamation
Part I—Preliminary
1. 	Short title
	This Act may be cited as the Defamation Act 1901.1
Part II—Civil Proceedings
3. 	Right of action for oral slander
(1) 	The right of action for oral slander shall extend to all defamatory words for which an action might have been maintained before 24 August 1847, being the date of the passing of the Act 11 Victoria No. 13, if such words had been reduced into writing.
(2) 	Subject to the provisions of this Act, all the rules in force relating to actions for written slander, so far as they are applicable, shall be deemed to apply to actions for such defamatory words.
4. 	Proviso where plaintiff’s character not likely to be injured
(1) 	On the trial of any action for defamatory words not imputing an indictable offence, the court or jury may, if the defendant has pleaded that the words set forth in the statement of claim were spoken on an occasion when the plaintiff’s character was likely not to be injured thereby, consider whether the words were spoken on such an occasion.
(2) 	If the court or jury are of opinion that the said words were spoken on an occasion when the plaintiff’s character was not likely to be injured thereby, they may find a verdict for the defendant.
5. 	Evidence of apology admissible in mitigation
	In any action for defamation, the defendant may (after notice in writing of his intention so to do duly given to the plaintiff at the time of filing or delivering the defence in such action) give in evidence in mitigation of damages that he made or offered an apology to the plaintiff for such defamation before the commencement of the action, or as soon afterwards as he had an opportunity of doing so in case the action has been commenced before there was an opportunity of making or offering such apology.
6. 	Truth no defence unless public benefit
(1) 	In any action for defamation, whether oral or otherwise, the truth of the matters charged shall not amount to a defence to such action unless it was for the public benefit that the said matters should be published.
(2) 	Where the truth of the said matters is relied upon as a defence to such action, it shall be necessary for the defendant in his defence to allege that it was for the public benefit that the said matters should be published, and the particular fact or facts by reason whereof it was for the public benefit that they should be published.
(3) 	Unless the said allegation is made out to the satisfaction of the court or jury as well as the truth of the said matters, the plaintiff shall be entitled to recover a verdict with such damages as the court or jury thinks proper.
7. 	Payment into Court
	In any action for defamation, the defendant or one or more of several defendants, may pay into Court a sum of money by way of compensation, satisfaction, and amends.
8. 	Defence of apology and payment into Court
(1) 	In an action for a libel contained in any public newspaper or other periodical publication, the defendant may plead that such libel was inserted in such newspaper or publication without actual malice and without gross negligence, and that before the commencement of the action, or at the earliest opportunity afterwards, he inserted in such newspaper or publication a full apology for the said libel, or (if such newspaper or publication is ordinarily published at intervals exceeding one week) had offered to publish the said apology in any newspaper or periodical publication to be selected by the plaintiff.
(2) 	The defendant, upon filing a defence under subsection (1), may pay into Court a sum of money by way of amends for the injury sustained by the publication of such libel.
	Costs on verdict for less than $4
9.  If, in any action for defamation, a verdict is returned in favour of the plaintiff for damages in any sum less than $4, the plaintiff shall have judgment to recover such sum only, and shall not have judgment to recover any costs, unless the Judge in any case of libel certifies that the words charged as defamatory were published without reasonable grounds or excuse.
Part III—Criminal Proceedings
10. 	Libel with intent to extort money
(1) 	Whosoever—
	(a)	publishes or threatens to publish any libel upon any other person; or
	(b)	directly or indirectly threatens to print or publish, or directly or indirectly proposes to abstain from printing or publishing, or directly or indirectly offers to prevent the printing or publishing of any matter or thing touching any other person,
with intent—
	(c)	to extort any money or security for money, or any valuable thing from such or any other person; or
	(d)	to induce any person to confer upon or procure for any person any appointment or office of profit or trust,
shall be liable to—
	(a)	if the offender is a natural person—a fine not exceeding 300 penalty units or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 years, or both; or
	(b)	if the offender is a body corporate—a fine not exceeding 1500 penalty units.
(2) 	Nothing herein contained shall in any manner alter or affect any law now in force in respect to the sending or delivery of threatening letters or writings.
11. 	Malicious publication of false defamatory libel
	Whosoever maliciously publishes any defamatory libel, knowing the same to be false, shall be liable to—
	(a)	if the offender is a natural person—a fine not exceeding 300 penalty units or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 years, or both; or
	(b)	if the offender is a body corporate—a fine not exceeding 1500 penalty units.
12. 	Malicious publication of defamatory libel
	Whosoever maliciously publishes any defamatory libel shall be liable to—
	(a)	if the offender is a natural person—a fine not exceeding 300 penalty units or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 years, or both; or
	(b)	if the offender is a body corporate—a fine not exceeding 1500 penalty units.
13. 	Plea of truth and public benefit
(1) 	On the trial of any indictment or information for a defamatory libel, the defendant having pleaded such plea as is hereinafter mentioned, the truth of the matters charged may be inquired into, but shall not amount to a defence unless it was for the public benefit that the said matters should be published.
(2) 	To entitle the defendant to give evidence of the truth of the said matters as a defence to such indictment or information, it shall be necessary for the defendant in pleading to the said indictment or information to allege—
	(a)	the truth of the said matters in the manner now required in pleading the truth of matters under section 6 in an action for defamation;
	(b)	that it was for the public benefit that the said matters should be published; and
	(c)	the particular fact or facts by reason whereof it was for the public benefit that the said matter should be published.
(3) 	To such plea, the prosecutor may reply generally denying the whole thereof.
14. 	Court may consider whether guilt aggravated by plea
	If after such plea, the defendant is convicted on such indictment or information, the Court in pronouncing sentence may consider whether the guilt of the defendant is aggravated or mitigated by the said plea and by the evidence given to prove or to disprove the same.
15. 	Truth not a defence except under plea of justification
	The truth of the matters charged in the alleged libel shall in no case be inquired into unless the defendant has pleaded to the indictment or information as provided in section 13.
16. 	Plea of not guilty available
	In addition to such plea, the defendant may plead a plea of not guilty.
17. 	Defence of absence of authority, knowledge etc.
	Where, upon the trial of any indictment or information for the publication of a libel, evidence has been given under the plea of not guilty which establishes a presumptive case of publication against the defendant by the act of any other person by his authority, it shall be competent to such defendant to prove that such publication was made without his authority, consent, or knowledge, and did not arise from want of due care or caution on his part.
18. 	Costs on private prosecution for libel
	In case of any indictment or information by a private prosecutor for the publication of any defamatory libel—
	(a)	if judgment is given for the defendant, he shall be entitled to recover from the prosecutor the costs sustained by the defendant by reason of such indictment or information; or
	(b)	if, upon a special plea to such indictment or information of the truth of the matters charged, the issue be found for the prosecutor, he shall be entitled to recover from the defendant the costs sustained by the prosecutor by reason of such plea,
such costs to be taxed by the proper officer of the Court before which the said indictment or information is tried.
Part V—Remedies of judgment creditors
23. 	Execution against presses etc.
	When any person is convicted either in a civil or a criminal proceeding of printing or publishing a defamatory article, the plaintiff or prosecutor in whose favour judgment is given may, under his writ of execution, levy the costs, damages, penalty, and expenses named therein, out of the whole of the types, presses or printing materials whatsoever belonging to the person whose types, presses or printing materials, or any part thereof, have been used in printing such defamatory article, as well as out of the property of the defendant on the record.
Part VI—Miscellaneous
26. 	Certain defences not available if this Act not complied with
(1) 	No defendant in any proceeding, civil or criminal, shall be able to avail himself of any of the benefits or advantages of this Act unless at the time of the publication of the article complained of if it be a printed article, all of the provisions made by law for regulating the printing and publication of newspapers and papers of a like nature or of the trade of printing generally, applicable to such a work as that in which such article is printed have been complied with.
(2) 	Any specified non-compliance with any such provision shall be a good answer to any pleading under this Act.
(3) 	Such defendant shall nevertheless be bound by the other part of this Act.

NOTES
1.	The Defamation Act 1901 of the State of New South Wales (No. 22, 1901) as shown in this reprint was one of the laws in force in the Australian Capital Territory before 1 January 1911 and was therefore continued in force by the Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909 of the Commonwealth.
The text of the Defamation Act 1901 of the State of New South Wales in its application in the Territory as at 10 August 1984 comprises Part 11 of Schedule 2 to the New South Wales Acts Application Act 1984 (No. 41, 1984) as amended, details of those amendments are as follows:
Sections 2, 24 and 25 and the Schedule, and Part IV (ss. 20-22) were repealed by the New South Wales Acts Application Act 1984.
Section 19 was repealed by the Defamation (Amendment) Act 1909.
	Citation of Laws—The Self-Government (Citation of Laws) Act 1989  (No. 21, 1989) altered the citation of most Ordinances so that after Self-Government day they are to be cited as Acts.  That Act also affects references in ACT laws to Commonwealth Acts.
2.	The Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 (No. 51, 1996) authorises the Parliamentary Counsel in preparing a law for republication, to make certain editorial and other formal amendments in accordance with current legislative drafting practice.  Those amendments make no change in the law.  Amendments made pursuant to that Act do not appear in the Table of Amendments but details may be obtained on request from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.
Table of Acts
Act	Number  
and year	Date of 
notification 
in Gazette	Date of 
commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions	

(Reprinted as at 31 July 1992)	
Statute Law Revision (Penalties) Act 1998	54, 1998	27 Nov 1998	Ss. 1 and 2:  27 Nov 1998
Remainder:  9 Dec 1998 (see Gazette 1998, No. 49, p. 1078)
	—	
Table of Amendments
ad. = added or inserted      am. = amended     rep. = repealed      rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision	How affected

Ss. 10-12	am. Act No. 54, 1998