Draft legislation to amend Tasmania’s Defamation Act 2005 has today been released for public consultation.
The Defamation Amendment Bill 2021 seeks to enact the Model Defamation Amendment Provisions 2020 (MDAPs) which have been agreed by the Attorneys-General of the States and Territories.
The MDAPs modernise and enhance the uniform defamation laws currently in place across Australia, striking the right balance between the need to provide fair remedies for a person whose reputation is harmed by a publication, and the need to ensure defamation law does not place unreasonable limits on freedom of expression, particularly about matters of public interest.
The Defamation Amendment Bill 2021 seeks to amend Tasmania’s Defamation Act 2005 by introducing new provisions that include:
The Bill is available for public comment through the Department of Justice website https://www.justice.tas.gov.au/community-consultation and submissions close on Friday, 2 July 2021.