The Robodebt Class Action Appeal Settlement has been approved by the Federal Court

If you opted to receive communications via email, all correspondence will occur via email.

If you opted to receive communications via post, all correspondence will occur via post.

You will be able to update your contact details upon logging into your registration profile once the Settlement Distribution Scheme commences. For now, if you would like to change your details, please contact Gordon Legal by email at [email protected] or calling us on 1300 001 356.

The assignment into Group Member Categories for each individual has been determined by the Commonwealth.

The Scheme Administrator is unable to vary a registrant’s Group Member Category, save for those Group Members assigned Category 4 who apply for a recategorization.

Given this, complaints from ineligible registrants (other than Category 4 registrants who seek recategorisation) should be directed to Centrelink. You can obtain Centrelink’s contact details here.

Eligible Group Members will be asked to choose between a Fixed Payment or an Individualised Assessment process.

Fixed Payments will be assessed according to set compensation amounts and will be paid within a shorter period of time than Individualised Assessment payments.

The precise amount of the Fixed Payments will not be determined until the settlement is approved by the Court, at which time the number of Eligible Group Members who have registered to participate in the Settlement Distribution Scheme is known. However, at this stage, it is proposed that:

• Category 1 and 3(b) Group Members will be entitled to a Fixed Payment of between $1,000.
• Category 2 and 3(a) Group Members will be entitled to a Fixed Payment of between $1,750.

Eligible Group Members who choose the Individualised Assessment process, will have their claims assessed by reference to their individual circumstances.

Individual Assessment payments will follow the finalisation of all Individualised Assessments for all Eligible Group Members. It is expected that these payments will be made in mid to late 2028. The amount you receive will depend on your individual circumstances relative to all other Eligible Group Members who choose to undergo an individualised assessment. Payments will be made from the settlement amount paid by the Commonwealth plus any interest which has accrued on that amount whilst the scheme is being administered.

Changed from Fixed Payment to Individualised Assessment:

Eligible Group Members who elect for a Fixed Payment will not be permitted to change their election to an Individual Assessment.

Changes from Individualised Assessment to Fixed Payment

Eligible Group Members who elect for an Individualised Assessment will be permitted to change their election to a Fixed Payment during a 12 week window beginning from approximately December 2026 to March 2027.

Eligible Group Members who elect for an Individualised Assessment will be notified when the window to do so opens and closes once the Settlement Distribution Scheme has commenced.

The Fixed Payment amount has been approved by the Court as part of its approval of the Settlement Distribution Scheme and cannot be varied or changed.

The Scheme Administrator is required to moderate all Group Members’ Individualised Notices of Assessment to ensure that, as far as reasonably practicable, the claims assessment principles, which form part of the Settlement Distribution Scheme approved by the Court have been applied and that all claims have been assessed consistently.

Group Members who are not satisfied with the assessment amount can elect to lodge a Notice of Request for Re-Assessment.

The Scheme Administrator will the reassess the claim of any group member who opts for an Individualised Assessment of their claim and then lodges a Notice of Request for Re-Assessment within the time specified when the assessment of the Scheme Administrator is provided to them. Once the re-assessment is completed, the Scheme Administrator’s decision will be final.

The Scheme Administrator anticipates paying Fixed Payments between approximately October 2026 to February 2027.

If you initially request an Individualised Assessment, but change your mind and request a Fixed Payment, we anticipate payment of your Fixed Payment will occur in by approximately March 2027.

We anticipate making Individual Assessment payments to Eligible Group Members in mid to late 2028.

The Scheme Administrator currently anticipates reviewing more than 20,000 Individualised Assessment claims. These assessments require significant resources to ensure the Scheme Administrator’s assessment principles are being applied equally to all claimants.

Eligible Group Members seeking an Individualised Assessment will be required to provide the Scheme Administrator with evidence of the loss and damages they are claiming compensation for. The Scheme Administrator may also request further information or an interview with Eligible Group Members and may require them to obtain a report from a registered psychologist or psychiatrist.

Eligible Group Members will also have the option of requesting a Notice of Request for Re-Assessment after receiving their initial Notice of Assessment if they are not happy with the outcome.

It is a requirement under the Settlement Distribution Scheme that Settlement Payments be distributed after all Individualised Assessments, moderation and re-assessments are completed.

The opt out deadline of the Settlement Distribution Scheme for Group Members who did not wish to participate in the Settlement Distribution Scheme closed at 4:00pm (AEST) on 6 March 2026.

Eligible Group Members are no longer able to opt out of the Settlement Distribution Scheme.

In 2019, a class action was commenced by Katherine Prygodicz and five other applicants against the Commonwealth of Australia, the legal entity responsible for Centrelink.

The six Applicants were represented by Gordon Legal.

The key claim in the first class action was that Robodebts were unlawful because Centrelink calculated them by averaging annual income amounts, rather than using the recipient’s actual fortnightly earnings.

In May 2020, after the first class action had been launched, the Commonwealth announced that it would refund all monies paid back by recipients of Robodebts. This amounted to around $751 million of refunds.

In November 2020, the parties to the first class action agreed to settle the proceeding without a trial. The Court approved the settlement of the Robodebt Class Action on 11 June 2021. The settlement provided for $112 million of compensation to be distributed to Eligible Group Members, calculated in the nature of interest payments.

Settlement payments for the first class action were made to Eligible Group Members in 2022.

In the Appeal, the Applicants asked the Court to set aside the first class action settlement so that they could bring a further claim for misfeasance in public office relying on the fresh evidence revealed by the Royal Commission. If successful, the claim for misfeasance in public office would provide further compensation to Eligible Group Members for the harm caused by the Robodebt Scheme, which was not compensated in the first class action settlement.

The first class action settlement only provided compensation in the nature of interest on the money taken from or paid by Eligible Group Members in relation to Robodebts; it did not provide compensation for other economic loss, distress, or psychiatric illness or conditions caused by the Robodebt Scheme.

The settlement will provide further compensation to Eligible Group Members for the harm they suffered because of the Robodebt Scheme, and will allow people in close personal relationships with a deceased Eligible Group Member to also make a claim in certain circumstances.

The Commonwealth has agreed that it will pay $548.5 million. The Commonwealth has not admitted liability for the impact of the Robodebt Scheme.

That total approved settlement amount is made up of the following components:

• $475 million in compensation minus a 15% funding commission to the litigation funder.
• Up to $13.5 million for legal costs (including out of pocket expenses and GST). The final amount to be paid to Gordon Legal will be determined by the Court by reference to the report of an independent costs referee.
• Up to $60 million to pay the costs of administering the settlement for Eligible Group Members (including the out-of-pocket expenses to be incurred by the Scheme Administrator and GST). This money will be used to contact, verify, identify, determine the eligibility of Group Members, assess and process their claims in accordance with the Settlement Distribution Scheme which has been agreed provided it is approved by the Court.

The settlement sum of $548.5 million is in addition to:

• the amount of $112 million which has already been paid to Eligible Group Members as a result of the first class action; and
• the amount of approximately $1.763 billion in Robodebts which had been raised by the Commonwealth, but which were cancelled as a result of the first class action, which includes the amount of $751 million which was repaid to Eligible Group Members who had repaid some or all of their Robodebts to the Commonwealth.

The combined total value of this settlement, the amounts repaid, paid as restitution, or abandoned by the Commonwealth in the first class action and the Appeal is more than $2.4 billion.

The Settlement Distribution Scheme was approved by the Federal Court on 23 June 2026. Gordon Legal was appointed as the Scheme Administrator of the Settlement Distribution Scheme.

Yes. Our clients and Gordon Legal consider that if the settlement is approved it will represent an exceptional result.

The result gives all Eligible Group Members in the Settlement Distribution Scheme the choice between receiving a small, fixed payment within several months of the settlement being approved, or electing to have their claim individually assessed by the Scheme Administrator by reference to the normal principles which apply to claims for compensation of this kind, taking into account the risks of litigation and the strengths and weaknesses of their individual claims.

Some people were very severely affected by being chased for debts that they did not owe. For some people, money was demanded from them at the lowest point in their lives. Those in close personal relationships with Eligible Group Members who died as a result of their Robodebts will, for the first time, be able to make claims for compensation under the terms of the Settlement Distribution Scheme, if they have suffered a recognised psychiatric illness or condition as a result.

Understanding that money can never fully compensate individuals for the harm they have suffered, the Settlement Distribution Scheme is intended to provide Eligible Group Members with redress more quickly and cost effectively than would otherwise be the case if the class actions were not resolved and went to trial.

The phrase ‘close personal relationship’ is not defined in the Settlement Distribution Scheme.

This allows the Scheme Administrator to consider all of the information provided by Category 5 Group Members, in determining whether a Category 5 Group Member was in a close personal relationship with a Category 1, 2, 3(a) or 3(b) Group Member.

It is a legal requirement that all class action settlements be approved by the relevant Court the proceeding was filed in.

On 23 June 2026 Justice Beach of the Federal Court of Australia approved the settlement and appointed Gordon Legal as the Scheme Administrator of the Settlement Distribution Scheme.

The Court was asked to consider whether the proposed settlement is fair and reasonable and in the interests of Eligible Group Members, considering all of the costs and risks associated with the Appeal and the class action continuing. The Court agreed with this statement.

The payment amounts will be different for different people. Payment amounts will vary depending on how the Robodebt Scheme affected people. People were negatively affected in different ways – and the settlement payments will reflect this.

Eligible Group Members will be asked to choose between a Fixed Payment or an Individualised Assessment process.

Fixed Payments will be assessed according to set compensation amounts and will be paid within a shorter amount of time. The precise amount of the Fixed Payments will not be determined until the settlement is approved by the Court, at which time the number of Eligible Group Members who have registered to participate in the Settlement Distribution Scheme is known. However, at this stage, it is proposed that:

• Category 1 and 3(b) Eligible Group Members will be entitled to a Fixed Payment of between $1,000
• Category 2 and 3(a) Eligible Group Members will be entitled to a Fixed Payment of between $1,750.

Eligible Group Members who choose the Individualised Assessment process, will have their claims assessed by reference to the claimants’ individual circumstances and will be paid following the finalisation of all Individualised Assessments from the settlement amount paid by the Commonwealth plus any interest which has accrued on that amount whilst the scheme is being administered.

Eligible Group Members seeking an Individualised Assessment will be required to provide the Scheme Administrator with evidence of the loss and damages they seek. The Scheme Administrator may also:

• request information or an interview with Eligible Group Members and/or
• require Eligible Group Members to obtain a report from a registered psychologist or psychiatrist (at the Scheme Administrator’s cost).

The Scheme Administrator recommends Eligible Group Members obtain independent financial advice as regards their taxation obligations.

Please get in contact with us as a matter of priority by email at [email protected] or phone on 1300 001 356.

No, you do not have to pay any legal costs. Eligible Group Members will not be required to pay any amount towards the legal costs incurred on behalf of the Applicants and Eligible Group Members from any amount they receive as part of the settlement distribution process.

The Court has approved an amount of up to $60 million (including out of pocket expenses incurred by the Scheme Administrator and GST) for settlement administration costs. This includes all the costs involved in administering the Settlement Distribution Scheme and distributing settlement monies to Eligible Group Members.

This amount was approved by the Court on 23 June 2026.

The legal fees incurred in the Appeal class action were partly funded by a litigation funding company called Omni Bridgeway Limited (Omni Bridgeway).

Under the agreement entered into by the Applicants and Omni Bridgeway, Omni Bridgeway is entitled to be paid 20% of any settlement amount.

As of 23 June 2026, the Court has ordered that Omni Bridgeway be awarded $35 million for their role in funding the litigation. The type of order that Omni Bridgeway obtained is called a “Common Fund Order”.

The purpose of that order is to compensate Omni Bridgeway for partly funding the legal costs of the Appeal class action and the settlement approval process, taking into account the risk Omni Bridgeway took in funding the Appeal.

Gordon Legal cannot assist with Centrelink issues that are not related to the Robodebt Class Action. If you have a problem that relates to your Centrelink benefits, or a debt due to Centrelink which was not part of the Robodebt Scheme, you should contact Centrelink directly. A link to Centrelink’s contact details is located here.

Please contact the Scheme Administrator via email at [email protected] or phone on 1300 001 356 to arrange alternative methods.

The Settlement Portal has been developed in compliance with accessibility guidelines (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) international standard), if you require further assistance, please contact the Scheme Administrator via email at [email protected] or phone on 1300 001 356.

For some individuals, the settlement process may trigger distressing thoughts relating to their previous Robodebt experience. If you are experiencing immediate distress, help is available at any time via the below support services.

Gordon Legal’s team have also received trauma-informed training and can provide trauma-sensitive assistance in relation to the Settlement Distribution Scheme over the phone on 1300 001 356.

Support Services:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN on 13 92 76

Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800

Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636

Headspace on 1800 650 890

ReachOut at au.reachout.com

MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978

QLife on 1800 184 527

Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467