Poniatowska v Channel Seven Sydney Pty Ltd

Ms Poniatowska appealed to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia against the dismissal of her defamation claim against Channel Seven Sydney Pty Ltd. The appeal concerned the trial judge's findings that Channel Seven had established defences of justification and qualified privilege, and also raised issues regarding the potential admission of new evidence on appeal and an apprehension of bias on the part of the trial judge. Ms Poniatowska also appealed against the costs order made by the trial judge.

The primary legal issues before the Full Court were whether the trial judge erred in finding that Channel Seven had successfully established the defences of justification and qualified privilege. Ms Poniatowska also sought to adduce further evidence on appeal, and contended that the trial judge ought to have disqualified himself due to a prior employment history with the Department of Social Security, which she argued gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The Full Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the judgment of the trial judge. The Court reasoned that Channel Seven's conduct in publishing the defamatory imputation was unreasonable. Specifically, the Court found that Channel Seven's sole source of information was the High Court's reasons for judgment, and without knowing what Ms Poniatowska had told Centrelink or what Centrelink knew, they had no grounds to believe the imputation that she had defrauded Centrelink. Furthermore, they took no steps to verify the accuracy of this imputation. Consequently, the Court concluded that none of the defences relied upon by Channel Seven were established, and that Channel Seven was liable to pay damages to be assessed. The Court also noted that it was unnecessary to consider the admission of new evidence or the apprehension of bias grounds, as the appeal was allowed on other grounds.

The Court ordered that the appeal be allowed, the judgment of the trial judge be set aside, and judgment be granted in favour of Ms Poniatowska for damages to be assessed. The parties were to be heard on the question of whether the Full Court should assess damages or remit the matter to a single judge for assessment.