The Australian Government will make sure people get their full compensation payment under the new Robodebt class action appeal settlement.
New legislation and regulations will exempt these payments from Commonwealth taxation, income testing and compensation recovery arrangements.
This is an important step to make sure those impacted by Robodebt get the full compensation they deserve.
Under normal circumstances, compensation payments like these can be subject to taxation and Commonwealth statutory recovery schemes. Legislative and regulatory changes will exempt the new Robodebt class action payments from these arrangements.
The changes will also ensure the settlement payments are not treated as income for class action members currently getting an income support payment from Services Australia.
Legislative amendments relating to social security, veterans’ payments and the National Disability Insurance Scheme will progress as a matter of priority to make sure there are no delays to eligible group members getting their payments. Other exemptions will follow, including an exemption from income tax, proposed for legislation before the end of the 2026-27 financial year
Gordon Legal is expected to start making settlement payments before the end of 2026.
As the court appointed scheme administrator, Gordon Legal is responsible for determining eligibility, assessing claims and calculating and making payments.
