An Adelaide lawyer who lost 80 per cent of his clients after someone he’d never met posted a negative online review of his business has won a $750,000 defamation payout.
A woman who won a long-running defamation case against Channel Seven over a Today Tonight episode that depicted her as a welfare cheat has been awarded $280,000 in damages.
Australia’s defamation laws are set to undergo their most significant changes for years. But while being sold as a win for free speech, the reforms may make it harder to successfully sue for damages and mainly benefit media organisations, argues Michael Douglas.