Section 25 — Defamation Act 2005 (NSW)

Defence of justification

It is a defence to the publication of defamatory matter if the defendant proves that the defamatory imputations carried by the matter of which the plaintiff complains are substantially true.

Sourced from the New South Wales Legislation website at 8 June 2026. For the latest information on New South Wales Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au. Verify the current text against the official source before relying on it.

Related sections

s 23 — Leave required for multiple proceedings in relation to publication of same defamatory matter
s 23A — Orders for preliminary discovery about posters of digital matter
s 24 — Scope of defences under general law and other law not limited
s 26 — Defence of contextual truth
s 27 — Defence of absolute privilege
s 28 — Defence for publication of public documents

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