Police Camera Footage Treated as Evidence; Crime Reporting and Search Results Exempt from Defamation; Chief Statistician Can Access Court Statistics

Justice Legislation Amendment (Integrity, Defamation and Other Matters) Bill 2024

1st House

2nd House

Law

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

The Chief Statistician can require court CEOs to provide electronic data on criminal proceedings, bail, family violence, and sex offender registration.
The Chief Statistician and their staff are exempt from restrictions on disclosing spent convictions.
Digital intermediaries providing caching, conduit, or storage services are not liable for defamation if they did not initiate or edit the content.
Search engine providers are not liable for defamation for the publication of automated search results, provided they do not accept payment to prioritise results.
Digital intermediaries can defend defamation claims if they maintain an accessible complaints mechanism and take reasonable steps to block content after a complaint.
Courts can order preliminary discovery to help a person identify the poster of digital matter for a defamation proceeding.
People required to sign documents under the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 can now use electronic signatures.

News articles and press releases