Deed · Defamation & Media Law
Deed of settlement and release for a defamation dispute, with agreed correction, apology and removal terms
Deed settling a defamation complaint before or during proceedings: payment, removal and non-republication, an agreed correction or apology in a schedule with placement and duration, mutual releases, confidentiality and discontinuance.
- Kind
- Deed. A deed that must be executed as a deed.
- 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 5 authorities it cites, for New South Wales and Australia.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when the parties to a defamation complaint have agreed terms, whether after a concerns notice, on acceptance of an offer to make amends, or to settle proceedings. For a settlement by acceptance of an offer to make amends, check the terms of the offer first, because acceptance has its own statutory effect (s 17).
How AI may be used
AI may fill the deed from the agreed terms sheet and compare the correction with the original publication; the lawyer settles the release, the apology wording and every operative term.
AI may
- Fill parties, dates, amounts and the URLs of the matter complained of from the agreed terms sheet
- Compare the agreed correction with the original publication and list any statement it repeats or does not address
- Check that every publication listed in the concerns notice appears in the removal schedule
AI must not
- Must not write or alter the apology or correction wording, which is agreed between the parties
- Must not change the scope of the releases, the confidentiality clause or the payment terms
- Must not add admissions of liability beyond what the parties agreed
The lawyer checks
- The apology and correction match the wording agreed, with placement, prominence, duration and any accompanying social media posts specified
- Every publication and republication in issue is covered by the removal and non-republication terms, including archives, syndication and search caches the publisher controls
- The releases cover the right parties (journalists, editors, related entities) and carve out the settlement obligations
- If proceedings are on foot, the discontinuance and costs orders are dealt with and the timing of filing is fixed
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
- 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)
- Correction, clarification or apology for publication, with placement and prominence schedule
- 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