Lewis v Howick College Board of Trustees

Lewis filed an application against the Howick College Board of Trustees, seeking redress for alleged defamatory statements made by the Board against him. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The central issue for the court was whether the Board's statements, which were made in the context of the college's internal communications, constituted defamation under Australian law. Specifically, the court needed to determine if the statements were capable of lowering the plaintiff's reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of the community.

The court found that the statements in question were not defamatory. The Board had argued that the communications were protected by the defence of qualified privilege, which applies to statements made in good faith for the protection of the interests of the speaker or the person to whom the statement is made. The court agreed that the communications were made in good faith and for the purpose of protecting the interests of the college and its students. The court held that the statements did not have the capacity to cause the plaintiff harm in his reputation as they were not published to the public but were internal communications. Consequently, the application was dismissed, and the plaintiff was ordered to pay the Board's costs.