Section 37 — Defamation Act 2005 (NSW)

Exemplary or punitive damages cannot be awarded

A plaintiff cannot be awarded exemplary or punitive damages for defamation.

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 34 — Damages to bear rational relationship to harm
s 35 — Damages for non-economic loss limited
s 36 — State of mind of defendant generally not relevant to awarding damages
s 38 — Factors in mitigation of damages
s 39 — Damages for multiple causes of action may be assessed as single sum
s 39A — Orders against non-party digital intermediaries concerning defamatory digital matter

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