Publication in defamation requires actual communication of the defamatory matter to at least one third party; making material available for reading does not constitute publication if no one reads it. The High Court's decision in Dow Jones v Gutnick did not alter this fundamental requirement. The mode and manner of publication, including the circumstances in which a document is made available, is relevant to whether the ordinary reasonable reader would understand it to convey pleaded imputations. Whether communication of defamatory matter to a joint tortfeasor constitutes publication remains an open question.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 12 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 12 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.