South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts37A—Defamation proceedings—single publication rule
(1) This section
applies if—
(a) a
person (the "first publisher") publishes matter to the
public that is alleged to be defamatory (the "first publication"); and
(b) the
first publisher or an associate of the first publisher subsequently publishes
(whether or not to the public) matter that is substantially the same.
(2) Any cause of
action for defamation against the first publisher or an associate of the first
publisher in respect of the subsequent publication is to be treated as having
accrued on the date of the first publication for the purposes of determining
when—
(a) the
limitation period applicable under section 37 begins; or
(b) the
3-year period referred to in section 37B(2) begins.
(3)
Subsection (2) does not apply in relation to the subsequent publication
if the manner of that publication is materially different from the manner of
the first publication.
(4) In determining
whether the manner of a subsequent publication is materially different from
the manner of the first publication, the considerations to which the court may
have regard include (but are not limited to)—
(a) the
level of prominence that a matter is given; and
(b) the
extent of the subsequent publication.
(5) This clause does
not limit the power of a court under section 37B to extend the limitation
period applicable under section 37.
(6) In this
clause—
"associate" of a first publisher means—
(a) an
employee of the publisher; or
(b) a
person publishing matter as a contractor of the publisher; or
(c) an
associated entity (within the meaning of section 50AAA of the
Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth) of the publisher (or an
employee or contractor of the associated entity);
"date of first publication", in relation to the publication of matter in
electronic form, means the day on which the matter was first uploaded for
access or sent electronically to a recipient;
"public" includes a section of the public.