How to Write a Cease and Desist Letter in Australia (Step by Step, Plus the $49 Shortcut)

You want to know how to write a cease and desist letter. Something needs to stop: harassment, defamatory posts, a competitor using your name, a former partner contacting you, someone using your photos or copying your work. You want it in writing, and you want it to carry weight.

Here is how a cease and desist letter works in Australia, what it must say, and why the people who get results rarely use a free template.

What a cease and desist letter does

It is a formal written demand that a person or business stop a specific behaviour, undo the damage (delete posts, return property, stop contact) and refrain from doing it again, or face legal action. It has no statutory form, but it is the recognised first step before an injunction, a defamation claim, an intellectual property claim or a harassment complaint. Courts look favourably on someone who gave clear written warning first.

Step by step: what to include

1. Identify yourself and the recipient precisely. Full legal names, business names, addresses.
2. Describe the conduct with dates, times, screenshots, URLs and witnesses. Vague letters get ignored.
3. State the legal basis. This is the step everyone skips. Depending on the conduct it might be the Defamation Act 2005, the Copyright Act 1968, the Trade Marks Act 1995, the Australian Consumer Law (misleading conduct), a state stalking or intimidation offence, a confidentiality clause in a contract, or the tort of nuisance.
4. Demand specific action: stop the conduct, remove content, return items, provide a written undertaking.
5. Set a deadline. 7 to 14 days is standard.
6. State the consequences: injunction proceedings, a Concerns Notice and defamation claim, a police complaint, or a tribunal application.
7. Reserve your rights. Make clear the letter doesn’t waive any claim.

Where DIY letters go wrong

Most template letters make one of three mistakes. They threaten action you can’t actually take (a copyright claim over something you don’t own, or defamation over a statement that is substantially true). They use aggressive language that later reads as harassment itself. Or they cite the wrong law, or no law at all, which tells the recipient you haven’t spoken to anyone who knows what they’re doing. A cease and desist is only as strong as the legal consequence behind it. If the recipient senses the threat is hollow, they carry on.

How to send it, and what happens next

Send the letter by email and by registered post (or courier with proof of delivery), and keep copies of everything. Do not engage in any further back-and-forth; let the letter speak. If they don’t, the letter becomes the foundation of your next step: a Concerns Notice for defamation, an injunction application, a police report for harassment, or a tribunal claim. Every one of those is stronger because you gave clear written warning first.

Safety first

If you are in danger, contact police on 000 and consider an apprehended violence, intervention or restraining order through your local court. A cease and desist letter is for conduct that is unlawful or damaging but not an immediate safety risk.

DIY template vs Claim Done vs lawyer

The $49 version

Tell Claim Done what is happening, who is doing it and what you want to stop. Our Programmatic Algorithms draft a complete cease and desist letter that names the correct legislation, describes the conduct in legally precise terms, sets a lawful deadline and spells out the real consequences. Review, download, send.

Don’t guess at the law. Get your cease and desist letter drafted for $49. Done in about 5 minutes. You approve it before it is sent.