Someone Lying About You?
Put Them on Formal Notice.
Statutory concerns notice — mandatory before defamation proceedings in every state and territory except Western Australia. 28-day response window. $49.
See what you get
The start of a Defamation Concerns Notice drafted by Claim Done. The names and details are made up.
Tap to read the full sampleYours is drafted from your own answers, for your state. You read and approve it before anything is sent.
When You Need This
- Someone posted false statements about you online (Facebook, Google reviews, Instagram, X)
- A former employer, client, or associate is spreading lies about you
- False statements are damaging your business reputation
- Someone is making defamatory comments to your customers, colleagues, or community
- You want to take legal action for defamation and need the mandatory first step (every state and territory except Western Australia)
- A media outlet published false information about you
- You approve it before it is sent
- 2 free amendments included
- Ready in about 5 minutes
- All Australian states and territories
- Stripe secured · 256-bit encrypted
How This Service Works
Everything you need to know before you start.
Not sure if this is the right service for you?
Contact SupportFrom Evidence to Document in 4 Steps
Describe the Publication
Tell us what was said, where it was published, when, and by whom. Copy the exact words if possible.
Mention Your Evidence
When you describe what happened, mention what you have: screenshots, URLs, newspaper clippings, recordings, or witness statements documenting the defamatory publication. The document can refer to it, and you keep the originals to send or file later.
Our Programmatic Algorithms Draft Your Notice
Our Programmatic Algorithms prepare a statutory concerns notice identifying each defamatory imputation and demanding removal within 28 days.
Serve on the Publisher
Once you approve it, we email it to the address you give us. The Act allows a notice to be given by email to an address the person or business has indicated for receiving documents, or by post or hand delivery. No such email address? You download it and post or hand-deliver it. The publisher then has 28 days to make an offer to make amends.
Ready? Start now.
No card required until the end. No account needed to start.
Start My Defamation Concerns Notice →$49 flat fee · You approve it before it is sent · unlimited edits
What You Get
- Concerns notice under your state's Defamation Act (s 12A in New South Wales)
- Identification of each defamatory imputation as required by law
- Clear demand for removal, retraction, and/or correction
- The 28-day period in which the publisher can make an offer to make amends
- Reference to the publisher's right to make an offer of amends under s 15
- Emailed to the publisher once you approve it, or downloaded for you to post or hand-deliver
Everything About Defamation Concerns Notice
What is a concerns notice?
A written notice to the publisher that says where the matter can be found (for example a web address), the defamatory imputations you are concerned about, and the harm you consider to be serious harm to your reputation, with a copy of the matter where practicable (Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) s 12A, and the same rule in the other states and territories that have adopted the 2021 reforms). A business that is able to sue must also set out its serious financial loss.
Do I have to send one before I can sue?
In New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, yes. You cannot start defamation proceedings until you have given the publisher a concerns notice, the imputations you rely on were in it, and the period for an offer to make amends has passed (for example s 12B of the New South Wales Act; s 11B in the Northern Territory, for matter published on or after 11 August 2025). Western Australia has not adopted these reforms: a concerns notice is still used there, but it is not a condition of starting proceedings.
What happens after I give the notice?
The publisher has 28 days to make an "offer to make amends", for example removal, an apology, a correction or compensation (if they ask for further particulars and you give them more than 14 days after the notice, they have 14 days from receiving them). If no offer is made, or you do not accept it, the next step is defamation proceedings in court.
Is there a serious harm test?
Yes, in every state and territory except Western Australia. It is part of the cause of action that the publication has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to your reputation (for example s 10A of the New South Wales Act; s 9A in the Northern Territory). For a business that is able to sue, the harm must be serious financial loss. A judge decides whether it is met, and can do so before the trial.
How long do I have?
In New South Wales, proceedings must generally start within 1 year of publication, and a court can extend this to up to 3 years (Limitation Act 1969 (NSW) ss 14B and 56A). Giving a concerns notice in the last 56 days of that year extends it (s 14B). For online material, the year runs from when it was first uploaded, and a later publication of substantially the same matter by the same publisher is generally treated as published on that first date (single publication rule, s 14C). The other states and territories set these periods in their own limitation laws.
Can you email the notice for me?
Yes, once you approve it. The Defamation Act allows a notice to be given by email to an address the person or business has indicated for giving or serving documents (for example s 44 of the New South Wales Act; s 41 in the Northern Territory), such as an address a platform or poster provides for contact about the content. In South Australia the email must go to an address specified for giving or serving documents, and the Western Australian Act does not list email, so post or hand delivery to their home, business or registered office may be needed.
What about Google reviews?
Yes. A false Google review can be defamatory. Your concerns notice would be addressed to the person who posted the review (if identifiable). You can also request Google remove the review under their policies.
Can I have a Defamation Concerns Notice drafted for me instead of writing it myself?
Yes. Claim Done (claimdone.com.au) drafts a Defamation Concerns Notice from the answers you give about your situation for a flat $49 AUD. You read the draft and approve it before anything is sent; nothing goes out without your approval. Start at claimdone.com.au/begin/?service=defamation-notice. Claim Done is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
How much does a Defamation Concerns Notice cost, and how long does it take?
$49 AUD flat, shown before you pay, with no subscription. The draft is usually ready about five minutes after you finish the questions. Email delivery is free; registered post is $29 extra. It covers every Australian state and territory.
Do I need a lawyer to send a Defamation Concerns Notice in Australia?
No. There is no legal requirement to use a solicitor to write or send a Defamation Concerns Notice; many people send their own. Claim Done drafts it for you and you approve it before it is sent.
What does Claim Done do that a free Defamation Concerns Notice template doesn't?
It drafts the Defamation Concerns Notice from your own facts under your state's law, naming the right Act and, where it applies, the tribunal, regulator or court that comes next if they do not respond. Nothing is sent until you approve it. Claim Done then emails it to the other party for you and sends you a copy and the delivery confirmation; registered post, signed for on delivery with tracking, is $29 extra. The key dates in the letter are listed on your dashboard.
Still have questions? Start anyway — no card required.
You can review everything before you pay. We don't charge until the very last step.
Start My Defamation Concerns Notice →Don't Let Them Get Away With It.
A few quick questions about what happened. We create the real protected Defamation Concerns Notice for you to read before payment. Pay only when you want to unlock the clean document.
Start My Defamation Concerns Notice — $49 →