New South Wales Consolidated Regulations New South Wales Consolidated Regulations(cf SCR Part 67, rule 18; DCR Part 49, rule 17)
(1) The particulars of a defamation defence required by rule 15.1 must, unless the court orders otherwise, include particulars of the facts, matters and circumstances on which the defendant relies to establish--(a) that any imputation, notice, report, comment or other material was or related to a matter of public interest,(b) that any imputation was published under qualified privilege,(c) that any imputation or contextual imputation was true or was a matter of substantial truth,(d) that any material being proper material for comment was a matter of substantial truth.
(2) If a defendant in proceedings for defamation intends to make a case in mitigation of damages by reference to--(a) the circumstances in which the publication complained of was made, or(b) the reputation of the plaintiff, or(c) any apology for, or explanation or correction or retraction of, any imputation complained of, or(d) any recovery, proceedings, receipt or agreement to which section 48 of the Defamation Act 1974 or section 38(1)(c), (d) or (e) of the Defamation Act 2005 applies,the defendant must give particulars of the facts, matters and circumstances on which the defendant relies to make that case.
(3) If a defendant in proceedings for defamation intends to show, in mitigation of damages, that any imputation complained of was true or was a matter of substantial truth, the defendant must give particulars identifying the imputation, stating that intention, and of the facts, matters and circumstances the defendant relies on to establish that the imputation was true or was a matter of substantial truth.
(4) The particulars required by subrules (2) and (3) must be set out in the defence, or, if that is inconvenient, may be set out in a separate document, referred to in the defence and that document must be filed and served with the defence.