Defamation law reform in Australia: the multiple publication rule

Defamation law reform in Australia: the multiple publication rule

Australian Attorneys-General are currently conducting a major review into the law of defamation. Australia's uniform defamation laws were enacted in 2005, and much has changed in the past generation in the media and publishing landscape. This is the first of three articles that will consider possibilities for substantive reform of defamation law. This article will suggest that Australia should abandon the multiple publication rule, whereby a new cause of action and new limitation period generally applies on each occasion that defamatory material is "published". Other jurisdictions have reformed this rule, and it is argued that Australian law should do the same.

This article was first published by Thomson Reuters in Tort Law Review and should be cited as Anthony Gray, Defamation law reform in Australia: the multiple publication rule, (2019) 27 Tort L Rev 3. For all subscription inquiries please phone, from Australia: 1300 304 195, from Overseas: +61 2 8587 7980 or online at https://www.thomsonreuters.com.au/en-au/contact.html. The official PDF version of this article can also be purchased separately from Thomson Reuters at http://sites.thomsonreuters.com.au/journals/subscribe-or-purchase.