What constitutes Serious Harm for purposes of a claim for Defamation?

On the basis of current common law considerations there are only 3 essential elements that need to be proven by a plaintiff in order to establish a prima facie cause of action for defamation. Firstly the material complained of must be proven to have been published, that is it has been communicated to a third party; secondly it must identify the plaintiff; and thirdly it must be shown to be defamatory or in other words, have a tendency to discredit the plaintiff in the eyes of right-thinking members of the community.

With the introduction of the proposed amendments to the Defamation Act there will however now be a fourth element that a plaintiff will have to contend with or at least be in a position to argue.