When is the deadline for limitation period: defamation?
The catalogue records a 1 year period from The date of the publication of the matter complained of. This draft page remains free only until its source, worked example and limits are reviewed.
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Calculation basis and source
- Period
- 1 year
- Trigger
- The date of the publication of the matter complained of
- Counting
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- Section 37(2) and (3): the period is extended if a concerns notice (as defined in the Defamation Act 2005 (SA)) is given to the proposed defendant within the 56 days before the limitation period expires; the extension is 56 days minus any days remaining after the notice day until the 1-year period expires. The operative judicial extension power is s 37B: on application the court may extend the limitation period 'to a period of up to 3 years running from the date of the alleged publication of the matter if the plaintiff satisfies the court that it is just and reasonable to allow an action to proceed' (s 37B(2)), having regard to the s 37B(3) factors. See also s 37A (single publication rule, which fixes when the period begins) and s 37C. Section 48 also applies in principle, subject to the s 48(3)(b) gateways, because this 1-year period is prescribed by the Limitation of Actions Act itself.
- "date of publication", for matter published in electronic form, means the day on which the matter was first uploaded for access or sent electronically to a recipient (s 37(4)). Corrected on verification: the researched entry listed s 37B only as a bare cross-reference. Section 37B is the operative defamation extension power and carries its own 3-year outer limit; that long-stop is now recorded as a separate entry rather than left merged into or implied by this one. Source: Limitation of Actions Act 1936 (SA) ss 37, 37A and 37B, version 1.7.2021 published under the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002.