Lange and Reynolds Qualified Privilege: Australian and English Defamation Law and Practice

Australian and English case law has developed qualified privilege defences that are available to the media and appear to protect more political or public interest speech than traditional defamation law. This article draws on judicial decisions and qualitative research into defamation litigation to examine the defences' scope, strength and practicality in litigation. England's Reynolds privilege emerges as a well-supported, relatively strong, flexible and innovative defence, especially compared with Australia's narrower and weaker privileges under Lange and New South Wales legislation. The research strongly supports the further development of Australian privilege defences, as well as more careful consideration of judge and jury roles in each country. A closer understanding of Reynolds offers important benefits for protecting the publication of public interest news and commentary, and it is particularly useful in light of recent, and proposed, Australian law reforms.