Robo-debt victims and their families have been awarded the largest class action settlement in Australian history after the Albanese government agreed to settle an appeal for an extra $475 million in compensation.

A royal commission into the Coalition government’s policy, which hounded more than 500,000 Australians for welfare repayments they did not owe , said the scheme was illegal, cruel, and the fallout utterly mishandled.

The commonwealth had settled the case in 2020 for $112 million, but law firm Gordon Legal launched an appeal for further payouts following the royal commission, which revealed new evidence of serious misconduct from senior public servants who designed and ran the scheme who knew it was unlawful.

The victims will receive a further settlement of $475 million in com

See Full Page