Defamation of candidates
300 Defamation of candidates
A person shall not make or publish, or authorise to be made or published, a false and defamatory statement about the personal character or conduct of a candidate.
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 6 months or both.
It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (1) if it is established that the defendant believed on reasonable grounds that the relevant statement was true.
A person who makes a false and defamatory statement in relation to the personal character or conduct of a candidate in contravention of this section may, at the suit of the candidate, be restrained by injunction from repeating the statement or any similar false and defamatory statement.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory statement
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