3 months ago
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Victorian Liberal MP and former tennis star Sam Groth could be a test case for Australia’s new privacy laws after launching legal action against the Herald Sun and one of its journalists over what he claims was a serious invasion of his private life.
Groth and his wife, Brittany, on Wednesday issued a concerns notice against the newspaper after it published a series of reports suggesting their relationship began on an illegal basis.
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party Sam Groth has launched legal action against the Herald Sun over its reports delving into his marriage.Credit: Paul Jeffers
The articles – which were condemned by Premier Jacinta Allan and Opposition Leader Brad Battin for breaching a long-held convention against scrutinising politicians’ family lives – implied the couple began their sexual relationship while she was under 18 and he, as a tennis coach, was responsible for her care.
Groth, who is deputy leader of the state Liberal Party, issued a statement on Wednesday describing the reports as false and defamatory.
“Yesterday’s publication about us was a shock and a disgrace,” he said. “It was full of lies.
“It was a serious act of misconduct for a newspaper to name and shame an alleged victim without her prior knowledge or consent. It is shocking that a media company would behave this way in 2025 – taking away a woman’s privacy and agency and causing her extreme distress as a mother.”
In a scathing concerns letter, lawyers for the Groths warned that the reports constituted a serious breach of Brittany Groth’s privacy under a new tort law, which came into force in June.
The letter also signalled their intention to sue for defamation.
“The article...was, at best, malicious gossip which was not even investigated,” the letter reads. “There was no basis to allege that any relevant sexual misconduct took place merely because our clients are said to have met when Mrs Groth was 17.
“Mr Groth has not been charged with any crime, or even investigated or questioned by police. It would be too kind to describe the article as ‘gutter journalism’ because it did not amount to ‘journalism’ at all.”
If the matter goes to court, it will serve as a high-profile test of Australia’s new privacy protections brought in by former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus.
Sam Groth and wife Brittany.Credit: Getty
Under the tort for serious invasions of privacy, a person can take action against individuals and organisations for either physically intruding on their private space or misusing information that relates to them in circumstances where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
The laws contain a defence for journalists.
To win in court, the Groths would need to show that the invasion of their privacy caused by the Herald Sun was serious, either intentional or reckless, and that the public interest in protecting their privacy outweighs any countervailing public interest, such as freedom of media.
Under the privacy tort law, the Groths do not have to demonstrate loss to be awarded damages. A court can also grant an injunction or order an apology.
The concerns letter says that, if the allegation were true that Brittany Groth, as a child, was a victim of sexual assault, disclosure of her identity would be a criminal offence.
“Naming and shaming an alleged victim of sexual assault, a child at the time no less, is a grotesque act,” it says.
“It is incomprehensible that one of Australia’s largest media organisations did so without any notice to Mrs Groth, without any care for how she would feel about her sex life being discussed publicly, how shamed she would feel to be identified as a victim or alleged victim of a sexual crime, or how it would impact her children.”
The Groths are being represented by defamation expert Patrick George and barrister Sue Chrysanthou, SC. They offered to abandon their legal action if the Herald Sun by 5pm Wednesday removes its stories from online, undertakes to never republish them and issues an apology for publishing its “disgraceful gossip about Sam and Brittany Goth.”
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The initial Herald Sun report, authored by reporter Stephen Drill, claimed that unnamed Liberal Party colleagues of Groth had previously questioned him about the origins of his relationship with Brittany amid concerns the issue may be weaponised by political opponents.
The report claimed that at the time the Groths began their relationship in 2011, she was aged 16 or 17 and he was either 23 or 24 and coaching at her local tennis club.
Although the age of consent is 16 in Victoria, it is a criminal offence to have sex with someone under the age of 18 if they are under your care or supervision.
The Groths married in 2018 and are the parents of twin four-year-old sons.
Premier Allan, when questioned about the report, declined to comment about the Groths’ relationship. “Families shouldn’t be dragged into politics,” she said.
Her senior government colleague, Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas, was less reticent. “If you’re asking me whether I think it’s appropriate for a person that is in a position of influence or authority, like a teacher or coach, to be dating a teenager, then the answer to that is no,” she said.
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