UPDATE #6
The Stolen Wages Class Action was recently settled with the Queensland Government for $190m. The formal orders approving the settlement were made by the Federal Court on 17 January 2020 and a copy is available in the DOCUMENTS section on this website.
The Court appointed Tony Jonsson and Anthony Beven of Grant Thornton Australia Limited, Cairns to administer the distribution of the settlement monies to eligible claimants. Please note that the registration of claimants closed in 2019 and no new claimants are being accepted.
The administrators will not be able to finalise the entitlement of claimants until after the Federal Court appeal period expires on 6 March 2020. Between 6 March 2020 and 6 September 2020 distribution statements will be sent to all claimants.
The administrators will be contacting all registered claimants regarding their eligibility and distribution. Information sessions will also be held throughout the Cape York, in the Torres Strait and some other mainland communities.
Information relating to the Stolen Wages Class Action, the settlement scheme, the distribution process and the information sessions will be available in the DOCUMENTS section on this website as they are finalised.
If you require further information or assistance, please call the Stolen Wages Hotline on 1300 591 545 or send an email to stolenwages@au.gt.com.
Anthony Beven and Tony Jonsson
Scheme Administrators
17 January 2020
The Court appointed Tony Jonsson and Anthony Beven of Grant Thornton Australia Limited, Cairns to administer the distribution of the settlement monies to eligible claimants. Please note that the registration of claimants closed in 2019 and no new claimants are being accepted.
The administrators will not be able to finalise the entitlement of claimants until after the Federal Court appeal period expires on 6 March 2020. Between 6 March 2020 and 6 September 2020 distribution statements will be sent to all claimants.
The administrators will be contacting all registered claimants regarding their eligibility and distribution. Information sessions will also be held throughout the Cape York, in the Torres Strait and some other mainland communities.
Information relating to the Stolen Wages Class Action, the settlement scheme, the distribution process and the information sessions will be available in the DOCUMENTS section on this website as they are finalised.
If you require further information or assistance, please call the Stolen Wages Hotline on 1300 591 545 or send an email to stolenwages@au.gt.com.
Anthony Beven and Tony Jonsson
Scheme Administrators
17 January 2020
UPDATE #5
We are pleased to confirm that the long-running Stolen Wages Class Action has reached a court-approved settlement of $190m.
The settlement administration (and payments to class members) is very likely to be conducted by Scheme Administrators Tony Jonsson and Anthony Beven of Grant Thornton Australia. Grant Thornton are a well-established and highly professional firm of accountants, with considerable experience in Indigenous Advisory. While the likely Administrators are based in Cairns, with BELAW, Grant Thornton have offices across Australia.
Before administration can commence, the “Appeal Period” must first expire. In the event an appeal is lodged, it will need to be processed and may potentially require a hearing in a superior court. This may significantly delay any settlement payments.
In the meantime, we suggest group members contact BELAW if any of their details change, such as address, phone number or bank details. Keep checking the website for further updates.
We wish the community a peaceful Christmas and New Year.
The settlement administration (and payments to class members) is very likely to be conducted by Scheme Administrators Tony Jonsson and Anthony Beven of Grant Thornton Australia. Grant Thornton are a well-established and highly professional firm of accountants, with considerable experience in Indigenous Advisory. While the likely Administrators are based in Cairns, with BELAW, Grant Thornton have offices across Australia.
Before administration can commence, the “Appeal Period” must first expire. In the event an appeal is lodged, it will need to be processed and may potentially require a hearing in a superior court. This may significantly delay any settlement payments.
In the meantime, we suggest group members contact BELAW if any of their details change, such as address, phone number or bank details. Keep checking the website for further updates.
We wish the community a peaceful Christmas and New Year.
UPDATE #4
The settlement approval hearing of the Stolen Wages Class Action was adjourned on 21 November 2019 to provide more time for the Applicant’s team to process registration forms and gather more information for the court.
The application for settlement approval is listed for further hearing before Justice Murphy in the Federal Court in Brisbane, on 19 December 2019 at 10.15am
The application for settlement approval is listed for further hearing before Justice Murphy in the Federal Court in Brisbane, on 19 December 2019 at 10.15am
UPDATE #3
Registration for the stolen wages settlement has now closed.
Registration for the settlement was open from 4 September 2019 to 8 November 2019. Our office has received many thousands of registration forms, supporting documents and enquiries during that time, while also running a wide scale Outreach programme across Queensland.
This has created a significant volume of paperwork to be reviewed, and processed, all of which takes time. We may not be in a position to confirm your material has been received right away, and we thank you for your patience.
If you have sent us your registration forms in the mail, or personally dropped off your forms in our office, or we have collected it on one of our Outreach sessions, then it is very likely in our office awaiting review and processing into our database. If you are enquiring about an emailed registration form, please tell us who you sent it to, on what date, and we can check for you.
If you already have an individual SW# or OSW#, you are a registered group member.
Applying after 8 November 2019
If you wish for us to approach the Court specifically on your behalf to seek to register your late claim at the hearing on 21 November, please send in a completed Registration Form as soon as possible and write clearly on the form, or on a document attached to the form, the reason/s that you have put the claim in late.
While we cannot give any guarantee that the Judge will accept your late registration, if we receive your form and written circumstances for the delay as soon as possible, we will do our best to ensure these are put before the Judge for his consideration. Ultimately the Judge will decide whether a late registration form will be accepted.
Next steps
Approval of the Settlement Distribution Scheme is required before the Administrator can be appointed and begin the payment calculations of each claim. This approval decision is expected to be made by Justice Murphy of the Federal Court of Australia, after the Final Hearing on 21 and 22 November 2019 (where he will hear evidence from the parties).
The appointed Administrator will then need to verify, calculate and distribute the payments to all the registered beneficiaries. This will be a lengthy task and may take up to 18 months to complete in full.
In the meantime, if you have a SW# or OSW# have not already provided us with your bank details, please contact us to provide those (BSB, Account number, name of account holder, and Bank). We are continuing to receive any missing information for claims received before the Registration Deadline. Please see above for information on “Applying after 8 November 2019”.
Date of Birth and Date of Death
For the purpose of calculating accurate payments, the Administrator will require Dates of Birth, and if available, Dates of Death. We understand the historical realities of government legislation means this information is either missing, destroyed or never existed for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
If you have claimed for a deceased parent, but you do not know their dates of birth or death, you should be able to calculate at least the year of birth for your parents if you have your own Birth Certificate.
Your birth certificate should show your father’s and mother’s age at the time of your birth. Subtract how old they were from your birth year and this will tell you the year of their birth.
Registration for the settlement was open from 4 September 2019 to 8 November 2019. Our office has received many thousands of registration forms, supporting documents and enquiries during that time, while also running a wide scale Outreach programme across Queensland.
This has created a significant volume of paperwork to be reviewed, and processed, all of which takes time. We may not be in a position to confirm your material has been received right away, and we thank you for your patience.
If you have sent us your registration forms in the mail, or personally dropped off your forms in our office, or we have collected it on one of our Outreach sessions, then it is very likely in our office awaiting review and processing into our database. If you are enquiring about an emailed registration form, please tell us who you sent it to, on what date, and we can check for you.
If you already have an individual SW# or OSW#, you are a registered group member.
Applying after 8 November 2019
If you wish for us to approach the Court specifically on your behalf to seek to register your late claim at the hearing on 21 November, please send in a completed Registration Form as soon as possible and write clearly on the form, or on a document attached to the form, the reason/s that you have put the claim in late.
While we cannot give any guarantee that the Judge will accept your late registration, if we receive your form and written circumstances for the delay as soon as possible, we will do our best to ensure these are put before the Judge for his consideration. Ultimately the Judge will decide whether a late registration form will be accepted.
Next steps
Approval of the Settlement Distribution Scheme is required before the Administrator can be appointed and begin the payment calculations of each claim. This approval decision is expected to be made by Justice Murphy of the Federal Court of Australia, after the Final Hearing on 21 and 22 November 2019 (where he will hear evidence from the parties).
The appointed Administrator will then need to verify, calculate and distribute the payments to all the registered beneficiaries. This will be a lengthy task and may take up to 18 months to complete in full.
In the meantime, if you have a SW# or OSW# have not already provided us with your bank details, please contact us to provide those (BSB, Account number, name of account holder, and Bank). We are continuing to receive any missing information for claims received before the Registration Deadline. Please see above for information on “Applying after 8 November 2019”.
Date of Birth and Date of Death
For the purpose of calculating accurate payments, the Administrator will require Dates of Birth, and if available, Dates of Death. We understand the historical realities of government legislation means this information is either missing, destroyed or never existed for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
If you have claimed for a deceased parent, but you do not know their dates of birth or death, you should be able to calculate at least the year of birth for your parents if you have your own Birth Certificate.
Your birth certificate should show your father’s and mother’s age at the time of your birth. Subtract how old they were from your birth year and this will tell you the year of their birth.
UPDATE #2
On 3 September 2019, the Applicant, Mr Pearson and the Respondent, the State of Queensland, formalised the settlement of the matter by signing a Deed of Settlement.
Registration for the settlement is open until 8 November 2019.
Group members can register for the class action by completing a Registration Form (Living or Deceased Group Members) and sending it to BELAW.
To be eligible you, or a deceased spouse or parent, must satisfy the following criteria:
Government or the head of the mission or reserve;
AND/OR
b. If you are an Aboriginal, between 1945 and 1966 you were
required to work on a settlement or mission.
If this applies to you, or a deceased spouse or parent, please complete a Registration Form and send to BELAW no later than 8 November 2019. Copies of the Registrations Forms can be downloaded from the “Documents” tab of this website, alternatively you can call us on (07) 4041 1641 to request a copy be sent to you.
Please note that due to the exceptionally high volume of phone calls to the Stolen Wages Hotline, it may take a few attempts to get through. We thank you for your patience, and advise that the correct way to register is by completing the Registration Form and sending it to BELAW by 8 November.
If you are already registered with us before the settlement, you do not need to complete a form. If you are unsure, we suggest you complete a Registration Form anyway.
Once the Registration Form has been completed and signed, please send it to BELAW via one of the following ways:
POST:
BELAW
PO Box 5196
Cairns QLD 4870
EMAIL:
bottomslaw@belaw.com.au
FAX:
(07) 4051 5206
The Registration Deadline is 8 November 2019.
Registration for the settlement is open until 8 November 2019.
Group members can register for the class action by completing a Registration Form (Living or Deceased Group Members) and sending it to BELAW.
To be eligible you, or a deceased spouse or parent, must satisfy the following criteria:
- You identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander; and
- You lived in a district or on a mission or reserve in Queensland; and
- Between 1939 and 1972 you had a paid job at some time and you didn’t get paid your wages; and
Government or the head of the mission or reserve;
AND/OR
b. If you are an Aboriginal, between 1945 and 1966 you were
required to work on a settlement or mission.
If this applies to you, or a deceased spouse or parent, please complete a Registration Form and send to BELAW no later than 8 November 2019. Copies of the Registrations Forms can be downloaded from the “Documents” tab of this website, alternatively you can call us on (07) 4041 1641 to request a copy be sent to you.
Please note that due to the exceptionally high volume of phone calls to the Stolen Wages Hotline, it may take a few attempts to get through. We thank you for your patience, and advise that the correct way to register is by completing the Registration Form and sending it to BELAW by 8 November.
If you are already registered with us before the settlement, you do not need to complete a form. If you are unsure, we suggest you complete a Registration Form anyway.
Once the Registration Form has been completed and signed, please send it to BELAW via one of the following ways:
POST:
BELAW
PO Box 5196
Cairns QLD 4870
EMAIL:
bottomslaw@belaw.com.au
FAX:
(07) 4051 5206
The Registration Deadline is 8 November 2019.
UPDATE #1
An in-principle settlement has been reached with the State of Queensland, Respondents to the Stolen Wages Class Actions, for $190 million.
BELAW is proud to have successfully sought justice for nearly 10,000 First Nations Queenslanders who had their wages withheld between 1939 and 1972 under discriminatory Protection legislation.
Our lead applicant, Hans Pearson, says “It's fantastic, justice has been done. I'm very happy.”
Eligible group members can still register interest in the class action by contacting BELAW Stolen Wages team. To be eligible you must satisfy the following criteria:
Government or the head of the mission or reserve;
AND/OR
b. If you are an Aboriginal, between 1945 and 1966 you were
required to work on a settlement or mission.
If this applies to you, or you are unsure, please contact our friendly Stolen Wages team on (07) 40 411 641.
Our lead applicant, Hans Pearson, says “It's fantastic, justice has been done. I'm very happy.”
Eligible group members can still register interest in the class action by contacting BELAW Stolen Wages team. To be eligible you must satisfy the following criteria:
- You identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander; and
- You lived in a district or on a mission or reserve in Queensland; and
- Between 1939 and 1972 you had a paid job at some time and you didn’t get paid your wages; and
Government or the head of the mission or reserve;
AND/OR
b. If you are an Aboriginal, between 1945 and 1966 you were
required to work on a settlement or mission.
If this applies to you, or you are unsure, please contact our friendly Stolen Wages team on (07) 40 411 641.
Information Sessions
Bottoms English Lawyers are coming to a town near you to talk about the settlement of the Stolen Wages Class Action. The full schedule is below.
Getting your MONEY BACKLet the court decide the amount! |
If you, or a deceased family member had wages withheld or controlled by the Queensland Government, you may be an eligible group member for our Class Action for Stolen Wages!
This isn’t compensation – this is recovering the actual wages earned, and letting the court decide, not the Queensland Government.
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ABC 7:30 Report on 12/09/2016
Stolen Wages - Madeline's story
Can I join?You can talk to us even if you have already received a Reparations payment. |
The Stolen Wages Reparations Scheme is a Government led initiative to provide small payments to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people whose wages and savings were controlled.
We think these small payments are not enough compensation, which is why we – completely independent of the government – are taking action. You can be involved even if you have made an application, or even received a payment, from the Stolen Wages Reparations Scheme. |
Stolen Wages - John Bottoms
