Introduction
The landscape of defamation law in Australia is undergoing its most significant transformation in nearly two decades, driven by the need to adapt traditional legal frameworks to the digital age. The Defamation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 (the Bill), introduced to Parliament on 14 October 2025, represents the implementation of nationally agreed Stage 2 Model Defamation Amendment Provisions.
In this article I examine the substantive reforms introduced by the Bill.
The Genesis of Reform: Responding to Digital Challenges
The catalyst for these reforms was the friction between defamation laws conceived in a pre-digital era and the contemporary reality of instantaneous, global digital communication. The existing uniform defamation laws – enacted in 2005 – were conceived in a pre-digital world where publishing was mainly a professional activity subject to editorial standards.
The need for reform was recognised as a result of the decisions in Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd v Voller (2021) 273 CLR 346 and Google LLC v Defteros (2022) 277 CLR 358. In the first of those cases, Fairfax was held liable as publisher of third-party comments on Facebook pages responding to news stories posted by Fairfax, exposing the vulnerability of digital platforms and forum administrators to liability for content they did not create.
The Stage 2 reforms represent the culmination of national consultation and collaboration through the Standing Council of Attorneys-General (SCAG). On 22 September 2023, SCAG approved, by majority, the final amendments for Part A, with jurisdictions agreeing to use best endeavours to enact the amendments for commencement on 1 July 2024. Although a little past that deadline, the October 2025 introduction of the Bill ensures Queensland’s defamation law aligns with the SCAG national model.
Digital Intermediary Liability
Defining the Digital Landscape
Central to the reforms is the introduction of a framework for digital intermediary liability. The Bill provides rules for ‘digital intermediaries’ including platforms, hosts, and search engines.
The legislation establishes an approach to liability for digital intermediaries that recognises the varying degrees of involvement different intermediaries have in the publication process. Under the stage 2 reforms, a person or entity will be a ‘digital intermediary’ if they provide or administer an online service where defamatory digital matter is published, provided they are not the author, originator, or poster of the matter.
The Accessible Complaints Mechanism Defence
One of the most significant aspects of the Bill is the introduction of an enhanced innocent dissemination defence tailored for the digital environment, centred around the provision of an ‘accessible complaints mechanism.’
This reform creates a new defence for intermediaries who provide accessible complaints mechanisms and act quickly to block or remove content once notified. Such defence is intended to represent a balance between protecting freedom of expression and ensuring remedies remain available for those whose reputations are damaged by defamatory content.
To be availed of, the defence requires digital intermediaries to implement specific procedural safeguards. The forum administrator must do certain things, such as providing an email address or other easily accessible way for people to complain of defamatory content. This requirement incentivises proactive content moderation while providing a safe harbour for responsible intermediaries.
Statutory Exemptions for Passive Intermediaries
The reform introduces conditional statutory exemptions for certain categories of intermediaries which perform passive functions.
Two conditional statutory exemptions from defamation liability apply to a narrow group of internet intermediaries, including search engines in relation to organic search results. This distinction between organic and sponsored content reflects a recognition of the digital advertising ecosystem and the varying degrees of editorial control exercised by search engines over different types of results.
Expanded Remedies
The Bill significantly expands the remedies available to plaintiffs.
Courts gain additional powers to identify anonymous posters, compel non-party takedowns and order removal defamatory content even when platforms are not defendants. This represents a significant augmentation in the armoury available to address online defamation, transcending traditional party-based remedies to encompass the broader digital ecosystem.
For instance, proposed section 39A affords the court power to make orders against non-party digital intermediaries concerning defamatory digital matters, allowing courts to order intermediaries who were not parties to litigation to take access prevention steps.
Conclusion: Navigating the Digital Future
The Bill and the broader Stage 2 Model Defamation Provisions represent a necessary evolution in Australian defamation law. By clarifying the liability framework for digital intermediaries, enhancing and extending the remedies available to plaintiffs and protecting complainants, these reforms attempt to recalibrate the balance between reputation protection and freedom of expression for the digital age.
Queensland’s adoption of the Stage 2 reforms entails progress toward national uniformity. It should be noted, however, that while several jurisdictions have enacted these reforms in line with the proposed timeline, other states have not yet adopted same. The inconsistencies in relation to the 2021 reforms have already led to forum shopping by plaintiffs, and this seems likely to continue unless states and territories agree to return to true uniformity.
These reforms should be viewed as an important waypoint in the ongoing adaptation of defamation law to technological change. The Model Provisions were endorsed prior to the wide emergence of Artificial Intelligence software such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Grok, Llama, and the many other platforms that exist.
Further reforms will inevitably be required as new technologies emerge and digital communication continues to evolve.
A link to the Bill is here.
