Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) If an offer to
make amends is made in relation to the matter in question but is not accepted,
it is a defence to an action for defamation against the publisher in relation
to the matter if —
(a) the
publisher made the offer as soon as practicable after becoming aware that the
matter is or may be defamatory;
(b) at
any time before the trial the publisher was ready and willing, on acceptance
of the offer by the aggrieved person, to carry out the terms of the offer; and
(c) in
all the circumstances the offer was reasonable.
(2) In determining
whether an offer to make amends is reasonable, a court —
(a) must
have regard to any correction or apology published before any trial arising
out of the matter in question, including the extent to which the correction or
apology is brought to the attention of the audience of the matter in question
taking into account —
(i)
the prominence given to the correction or apology as
published in comparison to the prominence given to the matter in question as
published; and
(ii)
the period that elapses between publication of the matter
in question and publication of the correction or apology;
and
(b) may
have regard to —
(i)
whether the aggrieved person refused to accept an offer
that was limited to any particular defamatory imputations because the
aggrieved person did not agree with the publisher about the imputations that
the matter in question carried; and
(ii)
any other matter that the court considers relevant.