Notice · Defamation & Media Law
Correction, clarification or apology for publication, with placement and prominence schedule
Three graded forms of published corrective statement (clarification, correction, correction with apology) for a publisher responding to a complaint or an offer to make amends, with a schedule fixing placement, prominence, timing, duration and online steps.
- Kind
- Notice. A formal notice to serve or publish.
- Where it applies
- New South Wales, Australia
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 18 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 18 October 2026 against the 4 authorities it cites, for New South Wales and Australia.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when a publisher decides to correct or clarify matter it has published, whether on its own initiative, under an offer to make amends, or as part of a settlement. If the correction is part of a settlement, put the agreed wording in the deed schedule instead. Settle the wording with the complainant where possible.
How AI may be used
AI may compare the draft correction with the original matter and the imputations complained of; the lawyer and editor settle what is corrected, the wording and its prominence.
AI may
- Compare the draft correction with the original matter and list each statement or imputation complained of that it does or does not address
- Check that the correction does not repeat the defamatory imputation in a way that republishes it
- Fill the placement schedule from the original publication’s position, headline size and channels
AI must not
- Must not write the correction or apology wording that is published
- Must not decide which form (clarification, correction or apology) to use
- Must not publish, post or schedule the correction on any channel
The lawyer checks
- The form chosen matches the instructions and the risk: a clarification does not concede falsity, an apology does
- The correction is at least as prominent as the original and published promptly, because both affect whether an offer is reasonable (s 18(2)(a))
- Online steps cover the original URL, syndication partners and social media posts the publisher controls
- If it is part of an offer to make amends or settlement, the wording matches the offer or deed exactly
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Defamation & Media Law
- Concerns notice under the uniform Defamation Acts (with UK letter-of-claim and NZ variants)
- Response to a concerns notice: further particulars notice, or letter declining to make an offer to make amends
- Deed of settlement and release for a defamation dispute, with agreed correction, apology and removal terms
- Offer to make amends in response to a concerns notice
- Defamation claim assessment checklist for an aggrieved person: publication capture, serious harm, limitation and concerns notice timing
- Pre-publication legal review checklist (including AI-generated text, images and quotes)
- Takedown demand for AI-generated deepfake or synthetic content (to poster or platform)
- Complaint notice to a digital intermediary (s 31A accessible complaints mechanism) with UK and US variants
- Newsroom and publisher generative AI and synthetic media policy
All precedents for Defamation & Media Law · Tasks and AI use in this area