Adrian Campbell Drops Defamation and Compensation Claims in Federal Court: McIntyre Team Labels Shift a “Desperate Retreat” and Flags Security for Costs
By Jamie Mcintyre
Adrian Campbell Drops Defamation and Compensation Claims in Federal Court: McIntyre Team Labels Shift a “Desperate Retreat” and Flags Security for Costs
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA — In a major procedural shift in the Federal Court of Australia (Campbell v McIntyre (No 2) [2026] FCA 1279), applicant Adrian James Campbell has applied for leave to formally abandon both his defamation action and all claims for statutory financial compensation against respondent Jamie Neville McIntyre.
The move comes after Justice Derrington discharged urgent ex parte interim takedown injunctions on 20 August 2026, ordering Mr Campbell to pay 80% of Mr McIntyre’s costs on an indemnity basis with immediate taxation permitted. That discharge followed findings of material non-disclosures by Mr Campbell regarding his residence in Thailand, his prior undisclosed criminal history (including 2012 fraud convictions and subsequent Australian Consumer Law offences in 2015 and 2018), and the mischaracterisation of an alleged $25 million corporate sales loss as personal damage.
The 16 October Application
Supported by the eighth affidavit of solicitor Nicholas Joseph Rossi, Mr Campbell’s new application seeks leave to file an Amended Originating Application that:
Abandons Defamation: Formally withdraws all claims for damages and remedies for defamation, despite earlier public statements framing the proceedings as a defamation suit to vindicate his reputation; Abandons Compensation: Wholly abandons claims for statutory compensation orders under section 237 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL); and Narrows Case to Injunctions: Restricts the substantive action to seeking permanent injunctions under section 232 of the ACL to force the removal of online articles and videos, while introducing new allegations relating to the collapse of Global Investment
Marketing Pty Ltd (“GIM Trading”).
Notably, the eighth affidavit does not address or reconcile the serious criminal history findings made against Mr Campbell in August, nor does it include a settled Statement of Claim, stating only that one was still being finalized by counsel.
