Clive Palmer

ASIC charged Clive Palmer with two counts of dishonesty as an officer and two counts of fraud, alleging that more than 12 million dollars from Mineralogy had been used for the benefit of the Palmer United Party during the 2013 federal campaign. The case involved numerous interlocutory disputes. As of 3 September 2026, the criminal prosecution remained pending, with a further mention scheduled at Brisbane Magistrates Court on 7 September 2026.

Attribution

Accused

ASIC prosecuted Clive Palmer and Palmer Leisure Coolum over alleged breaches of takeover regulations relating to the acquisition of shares in The President's Club. Following lengthy appeals, the High Court refused special leave in March 2026. Palmer Leisure Coolum pleaded guilty in June 2026; the charge against Palmer personally nevertheless remained pending on 3 September, with a hearing scheduled for 16 September 2026.

Attribution

Accused

Following a longstanding dispute over the Balmoral South project, Palmer and his companies claimed up to approximately 30 billion dollars from Western Australia. State legislation designed to neutralise this liability was unanimously upheld by the High Court in 2021. A related company, Zeph Investments, subsequently initiated investor–state arbitration seeking approximately 300 billion dollars from Australia. The international tribunal declined jurisdiction, and in August 2026 the Swiss Federal Supreme Court rejected Zeph's challenges.

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

Palmer spent approximately 60 million dollars on the United Australia Party's 2019 campaign without winning a seat. After the election, he claimed the real objective had been to prevent Labor from winning through negative campaigning and preference strategies. In 2026, messages released in the Epstein files showed Steve Bannon telling Jeffrey Epstein that he had pushed Palmer to make this expenditure; Palmer formally denied speaking to Bannon, and no independent evidence of such coordination was established.

State of the evidence

Unproven

Attribution

Directly implicated

An advertisement by the Palmer-funded Trumpet of Patriots reused an old excerpt from a scientific documentary to support a message downplaying global warming. ABC Verify concluded that the presentation was misleading, particularly because scientific knowledge and the quoted researcher's position had evolved. The video received millions of online impressions.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Federal Court found that Clive Palmer and Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan had defamed each other in a series of public statements. Palmer was awarded 5 000 dollars in damages and McGowan 20 000 dollars. The judge subsequently strongly criticised the cost and usefulness of the litigation and ordered Palmer to bear a substantial portion of the costs.

Queensland Nickel, controlled by Clive Palmer's interests, collapsed in 2016 following a financial crisis, resulting in approximately 800 job losses and leaving substantial debts. The federal government advanced tens of millions of dollars for employee entitlements. Liquidators subsequently brought extensive civil proceedings against Palmer and related entities; much of the litigation was settled in 2019, including an announced repayment of approximately 66 million dollars owed to the Commonwealth under employee entitlement guarantees.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Therapeutic Goods Administration publicly criticised radio advertisements authorised by Clive Palmer concerning COVID-19 vaccines, finding that they misleadingly presented adverse-event data and could discourage vaccination.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Palmer challenged Western Australia's pandemic border closure before the High Court, arguing that it violated the freedom of movement guaranteed by the Constitution. The High Court dismissed his challenge and ruled that the measures were constitutionally valid in the public health context.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated