Section 34 — Defamation Act 2005 (NSW)

Damages to bear rational relationship to harm

In determining the amount of damages to be awarded in any defamation proceedings, the court is to ensure that there is an appropriate and rational relationship between the harm sustained by the plaintiff and the amount of damages awarded.

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 31 — Defences of honest opinion
s 31A — Defence for publications involving digital intermediaries
s 32 — Defence of innocent dissemination
s 35 — Damages for non-economic loss limited
s 36 — State of mind of defendant generally not relevant to awarding damages
s 37 — Exemplary or punitive damages cannot be awarded

Research how courts apply s 34

BriefBridge searches NSW and High Court caselaw by meaning — every answer cited to the paragraph.

Try BriefBridge free