Something has been published about you or your business and it is doing damage. Before you can sue you must serve a concerns notice and give the publisher a chance to make amends, and you must be able to show the publication caused or is likely to cause serious harm to your reputation. The limitation period is one year. Most matters we handle end in removal, a correction or an agreed statement rather than a trial. Call 1300 286 578.
Key takeaways
- A concerns notice is a mandatory first step. You cannot commence proceedings without one.
- The publisher then has 28 days to make an offer to make amends.
- You must show serious harm to reputation — for a corporation, serious financial loss.
- The limitation period is one year from publication, extendable to three years only on a statutory test.
- Most companies cannot sue. Only an excluded corporation can.
- Truth is a complete defence. So, in the right circumstances, are honest opinion, public interest and qualified privilege.
Has this actually defamed me?
Three things have to line up: a publication to someone other than you, that identifies you, and that lowers your reputation in the eyes of ordinary reasonable members of the community. Since the 2021 reforms there is a fourth — serious harm. That last requirement ended a large volume of claims over minor publications to small audiences, and it means the question is no longer just “was this defamatory” but “can I prove it actually hurt me”.
What happens after I send a concerns notice?
The publisher has 28 days to make an offer to make amends. A reasonable offer that you refuse can become a defence, so the notice and the response to any offer both need care. If no offer is made, or the offer is inadequate, you can proceed. In practice a significant share of matters resolve at this stage, which is why the drafting of the notice does more work than anything else in a defamation matter.
Can I just get it taken down?
Often, and usually faster than a court can. Most online matters end with removal, a correction or an agreed statement, achieved through a properly drafted concerns notice and negotiation with the publisher or the platform. Injunctions to restrain publication exist but courts are cautious about granting them before trial.
I’ve been accused of defaming someone
Do not reply before you have advice. You have 28 days to make an offer to make amends and a well-judged offer can end the matter or build a defence. An unconsidered reply in the first few days is the most common way a defensible position gets damaged. Bring us the publication, the concerns notice, and anything you relied on when you published.
My business has been targeted, but we’re not a small company
Then defamation may not be your claim. Only an excluded corporation can sue — broadly a not-for-profit, or a corporation with fewer than 10 employees that is not related to another corporation. Larger businesses damaged by a publication generally look to injurious falsehood, or to misleading and deceptive conduct under the Australian Consumer Law. Individual directors named in the publication may still have their own claim.
Defamation is a largely uniform national scheme, so we act from all four offices — Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne — and where you are matters far less than how quickly you act. Further reading: what constitutes defamation, how to respond if you are accused of defamation and Australian defamation law questions answered.
Defamation FAQs
Have I actually been defamed?
Three things have to line up. There must be a publication to someone other than you, it must identify you, and it must lower your reputation in the eyes of ordinary reasonable members of the community. Since 2021 there is a fourth requirement — the publication must have caused, or be likely to cause, serious harm to your reputation.
What is a concerns notice, and do I have to send one?
Yes. A concerns notice sets out the publication and the defamatory meanings you say it conveys. Since the 2021 reforms it is a mandatory step before proceedings can be commenced. Once served, the publisher has 28 days to make an offer to make amends.
How long do I have to sue?
One year from the date of publication. A court can extend that to a maximum of three years, but only if satisfied it was not reasonable for you to have commenced within the year.
Can my company sue?
Usually not. Only an excluded corporation can sue — broadly, a not-for-profit, or a corporation employing fewer than 10 people that is not related to another corporation. Larger businesses generally look to other causes of action instead.
Someone has posted a bad review. Is that defamation?
It can be, but many reviews fail the serious harm threshold, and honest opinion is a defence where the review is genuinely opinion based on proper material. Removal through the platform is often faster than litigation.
Can I get the material taken down?
Often, and usually faster than through a court. Most online matters we handle end with removal, a correction or an agreed statement, achieved through a properly drafted concerns notice and negotiation with the publisher or platform.
What defences can the publisher run?
Truth is a complete defence. So, in the right circumstances, are contextual truth, honest opinion, the public interest defence introduced in 2021, and qualified privilege.
I’ve received a concerns notice. What should I do?
Do not reply before you have advice. You have 28 days to make an offer to make amends, and a reasonable offer that is refused can become a defence. An unconsidered reply in the first few days is the most common way a defensible position gets damaged.
What will it cost?
The early steps do most of the work and the later steps cost the most money. A well-drafted concerns notice costs a fraction of a defended proceeding and resolves a significant share of matters. We will tell you at the first conversation whether the serious harm threshold looks satisfiable — if it does not, the answer is usually not to sue.
What can I recover?
Damages for non-economic loss are capped by legislation and indexed annually, and the cap can be exceeded only where aggravated damages are warranted. Economic loss is separately recoverable if proved.
The clock started when it was published
Send us the publication and the date. We will tell you whether the serious harm threshold looks satisfiable before you spend anything. Call 1300 286 578 or get in touch.
Last updated: 2 October 2026
