Senior journalists and academics have pushed for a dramatic overhaul of local defamation laws, warning the rules have turned Australia into a "go to sue" destination for those unhappy about their treatment by the press.

News organisations have become increasingly concerned about the financial impact of defamation threats over articles criticising high-profile people after a string of cases resulted in large penalties, including hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to actors Rebel Wilson and Geoffrey Rush.

Osman Faruqi and Mark Latham faced off in the Federal Court over a defamation claim. Credit:Fairfax Media

At a Sydney Writers’ Festival panel led by former Melbourne University Press chief executive Louise Adler on Friday, two journalists and a leading academic pushed for substantial changes to Australia’s defamation rules amid a national review of the laws.

Submissions into the review closed on Tuesday, with new laws scheduled to be introduced in Parliament by June 2020.