A Concerns Notice is a formal written letter sent to the person (or business) responsible for publishing defamatory material which convey meanings which are untrue. 

The notice informs the individual and / or business of the alleged defamation, where the material was published, and evidence of serious harm which was caused to the person’s reputation because of the publication. A Concerns Notice will notify the publisher of the defamatory meanings conveyed in the material and the harm caused as a result and request the defamer make an offer to make amends.

A Concerns Notice must be served prior to commencing legal proceedings.

If you are served with a concerns notice, you will have 28 days from receipt of the notice to make an offer to make amends. An offer to make amends must:

1. be in writing;
2. provide that the offer is open for 28 days;
3. include an offer to publish a reasonable correction of the matter in question;
4. must include an offer to pay the expenses reasonably incurred by the aggrieved person.

The offer to make amends may also include an offer to provide an apology.

It is important that you serve an offer to make amends, as such offer can resolve the matter, or if the matter remains unresolved, it can be used as a defence to any proceedings commenced by the aggrieved person.

Depending on the unique circumstances of your matter, there are several statutory defences available to use if you have been accused of defamation.  These include.

1. Justification. This defence requires the defendant to prove that the statement made is substantially true.
2. Contextual Truth. This defence requires the defendant to prove that the statement carried other imputations which are substantially true, and because of those, the imputations do not further harm the reputation of the plaintiff.
3. Absolute Privilege. This defence requires the defendant to prove that the statement was made was put in a place where the law states anything goes, for example, in Parliament.
4. Public Document. This defence requires the defendant to prove that the statement was taken from a public document.
5. Public Interest. This defence requires the defendant to prove that the publication of the matter was in the interest of the public.
6. A Fair Report. This defence requires the defendant to prove that the statement was made as part of a public proceeding.
7. Qualified Privilege. This defence requires the defendant to prove the statement was published to a person who had an interest in having that information and the conduct of the publisher was reasonable in the circumstances.
8. Honest opinion. This defence required the defendant to prove the statement was an expression of opinion rather than a statement of fact, the opinion is of public interest and the option is based on property material.
9. Innocent Dissemination. This defence requires the defendant to prove that the defendant was not the primary distributor of the statement or material, the defendant had no knowledge of the matter, and the lack of knowledge was not due to any negligence.

Yes! The plaintiff must commence proceedings within 1 year from the date of publication of the defamatory material, failing which the plaintiff will be barred from pursuing an action in defamation.