{"id":38355,"date":"2026-06-25T09:29:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T09:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/38355\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T09:29:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T09:29:15","slug":"centrelink-recipients-win-historic-475-million-payout-as-robodebt-class-action-settlement-approved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/38355\/","title":{"rendered":"Centrelink recipients win ‘historic’ $475 million payout as Robodebt class action settlement approved"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

More than 125,000 Aussies who were impacted by the government’s unlawful Robodebt scheme will be entitled to a share of $475 million in compensation<\/a>. The Federal Court of Australia has this week approved the class action settlement<\/a>, which is the biggest in Australia’s history. <\/p>\n

Federal Court Justice Jonathan Beach ruled that an additional settlement of $548.5 million<\/a>, which includes the $475 million compensation, $60 million in costs to administer the scheme and $13.5 million in legal costs, was fair and reasonable. The settlement comes on top of an earlier $112 million agreement lawyers successfully appealed. <\/p>\n

Gordon Legal partner Andrew Grech said it was a “historic moment” for hundreds of thousands of Aussies<\/a> who were impacted by the “most shameful chapter in public administration in Australian history”. <\/p>\n

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“Their resilience and persistence have been fundamental in achieving this remarkable outcome,” Grech said. <\/p>\n

“The team at Gordon Legal is proud to have attained approval on the largest class action settlement in Australian legal history.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

“Now that the settlement scheme has been approved, the compensation assessment and distribution process will commence, with money expected to begin reaching applicants as early as this year.” <\/p>\n

How much compensation will Robodebt victims receive? <\/p>\n

Compensation will start being paid<\/a> to those who opt for a fixed payment later this year.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Gordon Legal confirmed to Yahoo Finance fixed payments were proposed to be $1,000 or $1,750, depending on the group member’s category.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Participants can also choose to have their claims individually assessed to take into account their personal circumstances. The process of assessment of individual claims will start next month. <\/p>\n

Fixed payments are expected to land within six months, while individual assessments are expected to be within 18 months. <\/p>\n

Class action representatives will be paid between $20,000 and $25,000 each for “inconvenience occurred over a number of years”. <\/p>\n

More than 125,000 group members registered to participate in the settlement scheme. <\/p>\n

‘Monumental moment’ for Robodebt victims <\/p>\n

Former nursing student Felicity Button was part of the class action and incurred debt worth $11,500 when claiming Youth Allowance. <\/p>\n

“The Federal Court’s approval of the Robodebt Class Action is a monumental moment for myself and all the other victims of the Scheme,” she said. <\/p>\n

“For years, we were treated as though our experiences were insignificant and not worthy of compensation.” <\/p>\n

\"Felicity<\/a> Felicity Button was a victim of Robodebt and an applicant in the class action brought by Gordon Legal. \u00b7 Source: AAP <\/p>\n

Robodebt was an automated government scheme that ran under the Coalition government from 2015 to 2019. It used a faulty algorithm to incorrectly demand that tens of thousands of welfare recipients pay debts they did not owe. <\/p>\n

The scandal caused widespread distress, pushing vulnerable Aussies into debt. It resulted in the suicide of at least two Australians. <\/p>\n

A Royal Commission in 2023<\/a> labelled Robodebt a “crude and cruel mechanism” that was “neither fair nor legal”. It found evidence that senior public servants<\/a> who designed and administered the scheme were aware that it was unlawful from the beginning. <\/p>\n

In September 2024, Gordon Legal appealed the previous settlement, seeking further compensation for victims following the damning revelations in the Royal Commission’s report. <\/p>\n

Last year, the federal government agreed to settle the claim<\/a> with Attorney-General Michelle Rowland calling it the “just and fair thing to do”. The settlement had been subject to approval by the Federal Court. <\/p>\n

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