The 'if, but only if' test from Rookes v Barnard for exemplary damages applies in Queensland: exemplary damages may only be awarded if compensatory damages (including aggravated damages) are inadequate to punish the defendant's outrageous conduct. Where a party tenders documents in its own case without limitation on their use, the trial judge may use those documents to assess the party's credibility even without cross-examination on inconsistencies — the responsibility to explain divergences within a party's own evidence lies with that party. Aggravated damages for trespass to the person require proof of actual increased suffering caused by the manner of the defendant's conduct, not merely proof of egregious features of the conduct itself.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 8 later cases that cite this judgment.
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