Australia: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

When serious allegations are published – intentionally, publicly and to a mass audience – the legal question is immediate and unforgiving: who must justify them? Under Australian defamation law, the answer is not the person defamed. It is the person who chose to publish.

A lot owner successfully claimed damages against an owners corporation for breach of statutory duty, with the Tribunal awarding costs under rule 38 despite the final award being under $30,000. The owners corporation's attempts to reduce the claim amount through pre-payments and Calderbank offers were rejected by the Tribunal.

A recent NSW District Court decision has clarified that the extension of the limitation period for strata claims from 2 to 6 years does not apply retrospectively to claims that had already expired before the legislative change took effect on 1 July 2025. The case also raises important questions about when owners become aware of their loss for limitation purposes, potentially departing from established precedent.