Carey v Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The plaintiff, Carey, brought an application under section 23 of the Defamation Act 2005 against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for leave to bring further proceedings. The dispute centered on allegations of defamation made by the defendant against the plaintiff, which the plaintiff claimed were defamatory and required legal action. The court was tasked with determining whether the plaintiff could be granted retrospective leave to bring the proceedings and if the application for an extension of time to bring the proceedings could be upheld, considering the plaintiff's limited access to funds and the internal complaints process already undergone.

The legal issues before the court involved whether leave could be granted retrospectively and if it was not reasonable for the plaintiff to have commenced an action within the limitation period. The court had to consider the plaintiff's limited access to funds and the internal complaints process already undergone in determining whether the plaintiff's delay in bringing the proceedings was justified. The substantive law applicable to the defamation claim was also a consideration in assessing the merits of the application.

The court found that the plaintiff's limited access to funds and the internal complaints process did not provide sufficient grounds for the court to grant retrospective leave to bring the proceedings. The plaintiff's delay in bringing the proceedings was deemed not reasonable in the circumstances. Consequently, the application for leave to bring further proceedings was dismissed. The court ruled that the plaintiff's circumstances did not sufficiently excuse the delay in bringing the action within the limitation period.