Commentary on Sections Miscellaneous and general Section 18 – Protection from actions of defamation
64.This section specifies various statements (within the meaning of the Defamation Act 1996) made by:
	the Ombudsman for the purposes of the Act, or
	any person by way of communication with the Ombudsman in respect of matters relevant to the Act,
which are to be absolutely privileged for the purposes of the law of defamation.  This effectively places a bar on a person’s right to pursue an action for defamation in respect of those statements.