Thanks very much Jimmy for your response but according to Stonegate Legal Litigation Lawyers, qualified privilege can be defeated. They say on their website the following:
“Malice is a crucial element in Australian defamation law, as it can defeat key legal defences such as qualified privilege and honest opinion.
Unlike general hostility or recklessness, malice requires proof that the dominant purpose behind a defamatory statement was improper, dishonest, or intended to cause harm.
If malice is established, it removes legal protections, increases the severity of damages, and holds defendants fully accountable for reputational harm.”
So I wouldn’t be rushing to “forget” defamation if one can prove the above. If a defamer had knowledge that their comments were false or they showed reckless disregard of whether it was false or not, and you can prove there was no legitimate reason to publish these defamatory comments, I would go for it. But perhaps with legal counsel by your side.