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Defamation Act 1992

Defences - Qualified privilege

18: Restrictions on qualified privilege in relation to Part 2 of Schedule 1

You could also call this:

"Rules About Protecting Yourself When Publishing Reports"

Illustration for Defamation Act 1992

You have some protection if you publish a report that is in the public interest. This protection is called qualified privilege. It does not apply to certain reports listed in Part 2 of Schedule 1 unless they are of public interest where you publish them. If someone sues you for defamation for publishing one of these reports, you may not be able to use qualified privilege as a defence. This can happen if the person suing you asks you to publish a letter or statement to explain or contradict the report. You must publish this letter or statement in a reasonable and adequate way, or the defence of qualified privilege will not apply to you. You can find more information about this in section 16(2) and Part 2 of Schedule 1. These are part of the Defamation Act 1992. The rules about qualified privilege are important to understand if you publish reports or other information that might be considered defamatory.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM281230.

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Part 2Defences
Qualified privilege

18Restrictions on qualified privilege in relation to Part 2 of Schedule 1

  1. Nothing in section 16(2) protects the publication of a report or other matter specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1 unless, at the time of that publication, the report or matter is a matter of public interest in any place in which that publication occurs.

  2. In any proceedings for defamation in respect of the publication in any newspaper, or as part of a programme or service provided by a broadcaster, of a report or other matter specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1, a defence of qualified privilege under section 16(2) shall fail if the plaintiff alleges and proves—

  3. that the plaintiff requested the defendant to publish, in the manner in which the original publication was made, a reasonable letter or statement by way of explanation or contradiction; and
    1. that the defendant has refused or failed to comply with that request, or has complied with that request in a manner that, having regard to all the circumstances, is not adequate or not reasonable.

      Compare
      • 1954 No 46 s 17(2), (3)(b)