Robodebt Class Action Appeal

The appeal will be about whether the decision of the Honourable Justice Murphy to approve the settlement of the Robodebt class action should be overturned so that group members can bring new claims against the Commonwealth for misfeasance in public office seeking new forms of compensation.

The applicants contend that the settlement approval should be overturned because, in light of the further evidence now available from the Royal Commission, the settlement does not represent a fair and reasonable outcome for group members, because it fails to adequately compensate them for their loss.

Before the appeal is heard, the applicants require an extension of time to be allowed to bring the appeal out of time, and leave of the court to appeal the settlement approval decision of the Honourable Justice Murphy.

Not enough, in our opinion.

At the time the settlement was agreed, the applicants in the Robodebt class action did not have access to the strong evidence that the senior public officials involved in the Robodebt scheme knew that it was unlawful.  That evidence was later uncovered by the Royal Commission.

As a result, the settlement amount paid in the Robodebt class action was calculated as interest owed on the amounts victims had paid to the Commonwealth.

The applicants want to argue before the Court that given the new evidence now available, the following categories of damages should be made available to eligible group members in a new claim, called a ‘misfeasance in public office’ claim:

• compensation for consequential economic loss caused by Robodebt. For example, many Robodebt victims were forced to take out loans to cover their daily expenses because of their Robodebt;
• compensation for personal injuries (such as a recognised psychiatric injury) caused by Robodebt;
• compensation for distress caused by Robodebt;
• aggravated damages; and
• exemplary damages.

These types of damages were not available to group members in the original Robodebt class action.

Not all of these claims will apply to all group members, even if the claim is successful. Much will depend on individual circumstances.

If these types of damages become available to group members, the total compensation amount is likely to exceed the compensation already paid to some group members, if they are eligible for these sorts of new claims.

The possibility of an appeal arose because of the findings of the Royal Commission.

Those findings were published on 7 July 2023.

Since then, a team of dedicated lawyers at Gordon Legal, along with a team of experienced barristers, have worked hard on identifying a viable legal pathway through which group members can be given the chance to obtain further compensation. This process took time because of the complexity of the legal issues involved, and the significant volume of new documents that had to be reviewed, amounting to over 10,000 documents.

The legal fees incurred by the applicants in appealing the settlement approval decision and, in the event the appeal is successful, in bringing new claims of misfeasance in public office against the Commonwealth are partly funded by a litigation funder, Omni Bridgeway.

The balance of any legal fees incurred are funded by Gordon Legal on a “no-win, no-fee” basis meaning payment will only be made to Gordon Legal in the event of a successful outcome.

There is no out-of-pocket cost to taking part in the class action. It is free to register.

You will not have to pay anything if the class action is unsuccessful.

If the class action is successful, then the lawyer’s legal fees and the commission of Omni Bridgeway will be subtracted from the amount awarded to the group as a whole.

Any payment of legal fees or commission must be first approved by the Court as fair.

The appeal will be heard in August 2025. The Court will likely require at least 3 – 6 months to consider its decision following the appeal, before handing down its judgment, meaning we may not know the outcome of the appeal until late 2025 or early 2026.