No concerns notice, no claim. No evidence, no concerns notice.
In most Australian jurisdictions a defamation claim now starts with a concerns notice that identifies the imputations and particularises the serious harm. All of that describes a publication. If the post was deleted the week it appeared, you are describing something you can no longer produce.
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M. Traeger
Public post · 412 shares
“The people running that firm took money that was never theirs. Ask anyone who worked there. I would not let them near my family.”
Deleted 6 days later, after 412 shares.
Concerns notice
Annexure A
ProofSnap package · SHA-256 a1f3…9c2
captured 14 Jul 2026, 03:12 UTC
Captured & sealed
SHA-256 · Bitcoin timestamp
Illustrative example. Fictional post and fictional firm.
Australian defamation law puts the publication at the centre of everything, and gives you about a year to act on it. A concerns notice must identify the defamatory imputations and particularise the serious harm, the recipient then has 28 days to make an offer to make amends, and the limitation period runs one year from publication, extendable to three years only where the court is satisfied it was not reasonable in the circumstances to have sued within the year. Since July 2021 serious harm is a threshold you have to prove rather than a presumption you inherit, and for online publications that means showing what was said, by whom, and how widely it spread. ProofSnap captures the post, the profile, the comment thread and the visible engagement as a package containing the full page, the saved source, the URL, the UTC capture time, a SHA-256 hash of every file, an RSA-4096 signature and a Bitcoin blockchain timestamp. Damages for non-economic loss are capped, and the cap is re-declared every year in line with average weekly earnings, so confirm the current figure before you rely on it in correspondence. From $4.99 (about A$7) as a one-off.
By Radim Motycka, Founder and Lead Engineer, ProofSnap · · Independently verifiable via Trust Verifier
Why this goes wrong so often
The post comes down, and the case comes down with it
People delete defamatory posts. Sometimes out of remorse, more often because someone told them to. Either way, the deletion happens long before your lawyer sees the file.
Deleted before you get advice
The gap between reading something about yourself and speaking to a solicitor is usually days. That is more than enough time for the post, the account or the whole page to disappear, and platforms are not obliged to keep a copy for you.
Serious harm needs the spread, not just the words
Since 2021 you have to prove the publication caused or is likely to cause serious harm to reputation. For web publications, courts look at how far it travelled. Share counts, view counts, comments and who engaged are all part of the picture, and they are all on the page while it is live.
One year, running from publication
The limitation period is one year from the date of publication, with extensions to three years available only in limited circumstances. The clock does not wait while you decide whether to bother.
The numbers that shape a defamation matter
The uniform provisions are enacted in every state and territory, but the 2021 reforms are not uniform in practice. Western Australia has not adopted the serious harm threshold or the mandatory concerns notice, and the Northern Territory only did so in August 2025, so check the law of the jurisdiction you are actually in.
The concerns notice is mandatory
Outside Western Australia, you cannot commence proceedings without giving one. It must be in writing, identify the defamatory imputations you complain of, and particularise the serious harm. Each of those elements is an assertion about a publication, so each of them is easier to make when you still have the publication.
28 days to make amends
From receipt of the concerns notice, the recipient has 28 days to serve an offer to make amends. After that window closes they lose the ability to make one, which changes the negotiating position considerably.
Serious harm is a threshold, not an assumption
Introduced from July 2021 in most jurisdictions, and in the Northern Territory from August 2025, it replaced the old presumption of damage. Western Australia has not adopted it, so damage is still presumed there. It means more than trivial harm and it must be proved with evidence of actual impact, which is exactly the evidence that vanishes with the post.
Damages for non-economic loss are capped
Section 35 caps damages for non-economic loss, and the amount is re-declared each year in line with average weekly earnings. The Queensland declaration set it at A$520,000 from 1 July 2026, and each jurisdiction declares separately, so check the declaration that applies to your matter rather than a figure quoted in an article. Aggravated damages sit outside the cap.
Capture the reach, not just the words
The most common gap in a defamation file is proof of extent. Capture the post together with what is visible around it: the share count, the view count, the comment thread, the reactions, the size of the group or page it appeared on, and any reposts you can find. Capture each of them as its own record on the day you find it. Serious harm is argued from the spread, and the spread is only visible while the publication is live.
Three steps, about forty seconds
No forensic training required. The proof is in the package, not in your testimony about how careful you were.
Capture the publication and its reach
The post, the profile behind it, the comment thread and any reshares. Each capture records the URL and the UTC time, so the sequence of what appeared when is preserved.
The package seals and timestamps itself
SHA-256 for every file, an RSA-4096 signature over the manifest, and an anchor to the Bitcoin blockchain so the date of your capture cannot be moved.
Hand it to your lawyer as one file
The PDF evidence report reads like a document, and the ZIP verifies in a browser. Your solicitor gets a file to draft the concerns notice from rather than a folder of loose images.
What lands in the evidence package
Between 11 and 15 files depending on your plan, delivered as one ZIP that anyone can check without installing anything.
Full-page screenshot
The whole page, not just the visible window, stitched and hashed.
Saved page source
The document as rendered at capture time, including the head, meta tags and structured data.
Extracted page text
Searchable plain text, so a quote can be found and cited without retyping.
Technical metadata
URL, page title, HTTP response headers, browser, operating system and the capture time in UTC.
Signed manifest
SHA-256 for every file, signed with an RSA-4096 key whose public key ships in the package.
Blockchain timestamp
The manifest hash anchored to Bitcoin via OpenTimestamps, so the capture time cannot be backdated.
Chain of custody and forensic log
A record of what happened during the capture, in the order it happened.
Evidence report as PDF
A readable summary you can attach to an application, a notice or a report.
Verification instructions
Written steps plus scripts, so the other side can re-check the hashes offline.
Where all of that comes from
Every file above is produced by one press in the side panel, while the publication is still up. The words complained of, the account behind them, the address and the time are recorded together, which is the material a concerns notice has to set out with some precision.
If the same imputation was published in several places, capture each one. Separate packages make it far easier to plead separate publications later.
Want to see what comes out before you install anything? Download a sample evidence package and open it yourself.
Anyone can verify it, including the other side. Drop the ZIP onto the public Trust Verifier and the hashes, the signature and the timestamp are checked in the browser. Nothing is uploaded and nothing depends on ProofSnap still existing.
Three ways to get the evidence
Prices are charged in USD. Approximate Australian figures are shown for orientation only, and your card issuer sets the actual rate.
One dispute
$4.99 once
about A$7
A SnapPack is a single up-front purchase for a set number of captures. No subscription, no auto-renewal, no trial. Best when you have one problem and you want it documented today.
Get a SnapPackOngoing matters
$8.99/month
about A$13
For anyone who captures regularly: practitioners, property managers, HR, investigators. The 7-day free trial requires a credit card. Cancel any time during the trial and you are not charged.
Start the 7-day trialWe do it for you
$44.99 per URL
about A$64
Send us the link and our team captures the package for you, with nothing to install. Useful when the capture should not come from a party to the dispute.
See the capture serviceProofSnap is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Qualified timestamps are issued by Disig a.s., a Qualified Trust Service Provider on the EU Trusted List. Australia has no equivalent regime, so that timestamp is independent corroboration here rather than a legal presumption.
Official sources
Every figure and deadline on this page comes from the following primary sources. Check them yourself rather than taking our word for it.
- Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) the model provisions as enacted, including the concerns notice and the serious harm element.
- Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) section 146, the rebuttable presumption for machine-produced documents.
- Arts Law Centre of Australia: defamation a plain-language summary of the elements and defences.
The damages cap for non-economic loss is re-declared each year in line with average weekly earnings, and the figure that applies depends on the date of publication. The Queensland declaration set A$520,000 from 1 July 2026. Always check the gazetted amount for your own jurisdiction and publication date rather than a figure quoted in a secondary article.
Questions people actually ask
One year to act. The post may not last the week.
Capture the publication and its reach while both are still visible, then take advice.