Free speech for academics, doctors and technical experts – meeting the peer review test

“Scientific controversies must be settled by the methods of science rather than by the methods of litigation. ... More papers, more discussion, better data… — not larger awards of damages — mark the path toward superior understanding of the world around us.” 

Judge Easterbrook J, US Court of Appeal¹

Recently, a new defence to defamation has become available for peer-reviewed academic and scientific articles. The defence in section 30A of the Defamation Act 2005 (Vic) (Act) and equivalent legislation in all other jurisdictions except WA and NT, is available if the defendant proves:

• The matter was published in a scientific or academic journal; and
• The matter relates to a scientific or academic issue; and