Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Limitation of Actions Act 1958 - SECT 23B

Defamation

23B. Defamation



(1) A person claiming to have a cause of action for defamation may apply to a
court for an order extending the limitation period for the cause of action.

(2) A court, on an application under subsection (1), must, if satisfied that
it was not reasonable in the circumstances for the plaintiff to have commenced
an action in relation to the matter complained of within 1 year from the date
of the publication, extend the limitation period mentioned in section 5(1AAA)
to a period of up to 3 years from the date of the publication.

(3) A court may not order the extension of the limitation period for a cause
of action for defamation other than in the circumstances specified in
subsection (2).





(4) If a court orders the extension of a period of limitation applicable to a
cause of action under this section, that period of limitation is accordingly
extended for the purposes of an action brought by the applicant in that court
on the cause of action that the applicant claims to have.

(5) An order for the extension of a limitation period, and an application for
such an order, may be made under this section even though the limitation
period has already expired.