Marsden v Amalgamated Television Services Pty Limited

The applicant, Marsden, sought an order from the Fair Work Commission for aggravated damages, on the basis that the respondent, Amalgamated Television Services, had published material that was defamatory of him. The matter was heard by Deputy President McCabe, who found in favour of the applicant. The respondent sought to have certain documents excluded from evidence on the basis that they were irrelevant and/or had been obtained or prepared in circumstances that were unfair. The documents in question were all created by or for the respondent and contained disparaging comments about the applicant. The applicant argued that the documents were relevant to the issue of aggravated damages, and that they had been obtained in a fair manner. The court held that the documents were relevant to the issues before the court, and that the process by which they were obtained was not unfair. The court found that the documents were admissible.

The court also heard evidence of the applicant's loss of reputation and the impact that the publication of the material had on him. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to establish that the applicant had suffered injury to his reputation, and that the injury was sufficiently serious to warrant an award of aggravated damages. The court found that the applicant was entitled to an award of aggravated damages in the sum of $100,000. The court also made an order that the documents numbered 47, 48 and 49 were to be admissible as evidence in the proceedings.