Can you be accused of defaming someone if the statement is true?

The person who considers they have been defamed must first satisfy the elements of a legal claim, being:

• Matter was published (i.e. communications to a third party)
• Matter reasonably identifies a person (i.e. by name, by position)
• Matter carries defamatory meanings (i.e. lower estimation, shun or avoid)
• Matter causes (or likely to cause) serious harm/serious financial loss (recent amendment)

If so, it's a defence if something is substantially true. If it is wholly true or substantially true, that can excuse you from liability for defamation.

It doesn't mean though that you avoid potentially get dragged through the process of a claim. When relying on this defence, not every detail most be true. It is the core or “sting” of the defamatory matter that must be substantially true.