Convicted US whistleblower Chelsea Manning's talk at the Sydney Opera House will be done via video link after she was denied a visa by the Australian government.
The transgender activist was due to start a speaking tour on Sunday, but a notice of intention was issued to deny the former soldier entry into Australia on character grounds.
Instead, Ms Manning will be interviewed via video from Los Angeles by prominent Australian journalist Peter Greste, who will be in Sydney.
Tour organiser Think Inc. is still holding out hope she will be granted entry into Australia for shows in Melbourne and Brisbane.
New Zealand confirmed on Friday it had given Ms Manning special dispensation to apply for a visa to speak in Auckland and Wellington despite opposition calls to ban her.
Think Inc. director Suzi Jamil said she felt "a bit defeated" by the developments and had been assured by the Home Affairs department it was their "top priority".
"I can do it over video link - but Chelsea is free, she's not in prison and doesn't have to hide away in Russia," Ms Jamil told AAP.
Calls for Ms Manning to be allowed into Australia are growing louder, with a change.org petition receiving more than 16,000 signatures.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale has written to Immigration Minister David Coleman and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, declaring Ms Manning "is not a public figure who incites violence or hate".
Under Section 501 of the Australian Migration Act, a visa may be cancelled if a person does not pass the "character test".
The Department of Home Affairs said it does not comment on individual cases but all non-citizens entering Australia must meet character requirements set out in the Migration Act.
She served seven of her 35-year prison sentence for leaking more than 700,000 classified military and diplomatic documents before being granted clemency by then-president Barack Obama in 2017.
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