What does defamation mean?

• Defamation is an intentional tort. To defame someone means to damage another person’s reputation either through:
  • slander which is a spoken statement; or
  • libel which is a published or written statement.
• Defamation is unlawful under most circumstances.
• Defamation is a strict liability tort in that the mere fact that you have made defamatory material public may result in you having to pay damages regardless of your intention in doing so although if your intention was innocent and you can prove you could not reasonably have known that the material was defamatory you may have a statutory defence.
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