Section 36 — Defamation Act 2005 (NSW)

State of mind of defendant generally not relevant to awarding damages

In awarding damages for defamation, the court is to disregard the malice or other state of mind of the defendant at the time of the publication of the defamatory matter to which the proceedings relate or at any other time except to the extent that the malice or other state of mind affects the harm sustained by the plaintiff.

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 32 — Defence of innocent dissemination
s 34 — Damages to bear rational relationship to harm
s 35 — Damages for non-economic loss limited
s 37 — Exemplary or punitive damages cannot be awarded
s 38 — Factors in mitigation of damages
s 39 — Damages for multiple causes of action may be assessed as single sum

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