Liability for publicising disciplinary action
Section 155 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 provides as follows:
(1) No liability is incurred by a protected person in respect of anything done or omitted to be done in good faith for the purpose of:
(a) publicising disciplinary action taken against a lawyer, or
(b) exercising the powers or functions of the NSW Commissioner or a Council under sections 151-153, or
(c) keeping, publishing or enabling access to the Register of Disciplinary Action.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), no liability (including liability in defamation) is incurred by a person publishing in good faith:
(a) information about disciplinary action:
(i) recorded in the Register of Disciplinary Action, or
(ii) otherwise publicised by the NSW Commissioner or a Council under this Part,
or matter purporting to contain information of that kind where the matter is incorrect in any respect, or
(b) a fair report or summary of that information.
(3) In this section:
protected person means:
(a) the State, or
(b) the NSW Commissioner, or
(c) a Council, or
(d) a person responsible for keeping the whole or any part of the Register of Disciplinary Action, or
(e) an internet service provider or internet content host, or
(f) a member of staff of or a person acting at the direction of an authority of the State or any person or body referred to in this definition.