---
title: "Defences assessment checklist for a publisher facing a defamation complaint"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/defamation-and-media-law/publisher-defences-assessment-checklist"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a33-publisher-defences-assessment-checklist"
area_id: "A33"
kind: "checklist"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A33-T1-R4", "A33-F20261018-1"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-18"
---

# Defences assessment checklist for a publisher facing a defamation complaint

> Checklist for testing each statutory defence under the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) against the imputations complained of: justification, contextual truth, privilege, public documents and fair report, public interest,…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/defamation-and-media-law/publisher-defences-assessment-checklist  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-18

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

Checklist for testing each statutory defence under the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) against the imputations complained of: justification, contextual truth, privilege, public documents and fair report, public interest, honest opinion, digital intermediaries and innocent dissemination.

## Key facts

- Kind: Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Practice area: [Defamation & Media Law](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/defamation-and-media-law.md)
- Jurisdictions: New South Wales, Australia
- AI level: Yellow. AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-18
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-18 against the 3 authorities it cites, for New South Wales and Australia.

## When to use it

Use when a publisher, journalist or platform receives a concerns notice or claim, to record for each imputation which defences are available, what evidence supports them and what is missing, before advising on the response or an offer to make amends.

## Used for these tasks

- [Build a defences checklist from the publication and the file](https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/build-a-defences-checklist-from-the-publication-and-the-file.md)
- [Assess a concerns notice received and plan the response within the offer-to-make-amends window](https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law.md#A33-F20261018-1)

## How AI may be used

AI may organise the publication, the imputations the lawyer has settled and the file evidence into the defence table; the lawyer decides which defences are open and how strong they are.

**AI may:**

- Lay out each imputation the lawyer has settled against each statutory defence in the table
- Link documents, notes and sources on file to the facts each defence needs, with references
- List evidence gaps for the lawyer to follow up

**AI must not:**

- Must not formulate the imputations or decide what the matter conveys
- Must not assess whether a defence will succeed or whether an imputation is substantially true
- Must not disclose a confidential source's identity from the file in any output

**The lawyer checks:**

- The imputations used are those complained of or pleaded, and any contextual imputations are properly identified
- Each defence element is matched to admissible evidence, with the onus on the defendant
- Public interest (s 29A) analysis considers the defendant's reasonable belief and the matters the court may take into account

## Authorities

- [Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) ss 25 and 26 (justification; contextual truth)](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-2005-077)
- [Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) ss 27 to 30A (absolute privilege; public documents; fair report; public interest under s 29A; qualified privilege under s 30; scientific or academic peer review)](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-2005-077)
- [Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) ss 31, 31A and 32 (honest opinion; digital intermediaries with an accessible complaints mechanism; innocent dissemination) and s 24 (general law defences preserved)](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-2005-077)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/defamation-and-media-law/publisher-defences-assessment-checklist and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*