Content Moderation Policy

Last updated: April 2026

LegalHub hosts community-contributed legal experiences. This policy explains how we moderate content to protect both contributors and the people mentioned in contributions, while maintaining the educational value of shared experiences.

Legal framework

Our moderation approach is designed around Australian defamation law, specifically:

  • Defamation Act 2005 (Qld) s 9(2) — government bodies and corporations with 10 or more employees cannot bring defamation proceedings. Contributors may name these entities.
  • s 31A (digital intermediary defence) — commenced 26 December 2025, this provides a defence for platforms that maintain an accessible complaints mechanism and take reasonable steps to remove content within 7 days of receiving a complaint.
  • s 25 (truth), s 29A (public interest), s 30 (qualified privilege), and s 31 (honest opinion) — additional defences that may protect both the platform and contributors.

How we moderate contributions

Every community contribution goes through a structured process before publication:

1

Structured submission

Contributors use a structured form with dropdown categories and guided prompts. This reduces free-text defamation risk by channelling descriptions into factual patterns rather than personal narratives.

2

Pattern extraction

The system extracts the legal pattern from the story: the type of situation, the approach taken, and the outcome. Personal details, individual names, dates, and identifying information are removed during this step.

3

Contributor review

The contributor reviews the extracted pattern and approves it before publication. They can edit or discard the pattern. Nothing is published without contributor approval.

4

Publication with monitoring

Published content is monitored via the community flagging system and our complaints mechanism. Content flagged as potentially defamatory is quarantined pending review.

What contributors can and cannot name

CAN name

  • Government bodies (QPS, QCAT, Legal Aid, councils, courts)
  • Government departments (Dept of Housing, Transport, etc.)
  • Large corporations (10+ employees)
  • Courts and tribunals
  • Legislation and rules by name

These entities cannot sue for defamation under s 9(2).

CANNOT name

  • Individual people (by real name)
  • Small businesses (<10 employees)
  • Specific addresses or locations that identify individuals
  • Details subject to suppression orders

Individual names are removed during pattern extraction.

Opinion framing

Community contributions are framed as personal experiences and opinions, not statements of fact. This provides additional protection under the honest opinion defence (s 31). Each published contribution is displayed with a disclaimer noting that it represents the personal experience of the contributor and is not verified legal guidance.

Complaints mechanism (s 31A compliance)

In accordance with the Defamation Act 2005 (Qld) s 31A, we maintain an accessible complaints mechanism:

  • How to complain: Email report@legalhub.au or use the Report Content page
  • Acknowledgment: Within 48 hours
  • Review and action: Within 7 days
  • Default action: When in doubt, content is removed first and assessed later (remove-first policy)

All complaints are logged with timestamps to evidence our compliance with the s 31A requirements.

How this compares to other platforms

Platform Model Review
ProductReview.com.au Automated + human review Pre-publication
Glassdoor Community guidelines + moderation Pre-publication
Whirlpool Forums Community moderation + legal response Post-publication
LegalHub Pattern extraction + contributor approval Pre-publication (contributor approves)

Questions

For questions about our content moderation approach, contact support@legalhub.au.