This article discusses whether you can be liable for defamation if its true and explains how truth can be used as a legal defence in Queensland.
Question: If you are accused of defaming someone, does it make any difference if your statement is true and correct?
Answer: It’s a defence if something is substantially true, however…
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.
Brendan Pitman Grace Lawyers E: brendan.pitman@gracelawyers.com.au P: 07 5554 8560
This post appears in the February 2026 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
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