At least 1400 current and former Manus Island detainees will be paid their share of $70 million in compensation before the centre closes next month.
Some detainees believed the settlement was not enough but a Victorian Supreme Court judge concluded it was a fair and reasonable sum.
Justice Cameron Macaulay on Wednesday approved the $70 million class action settlement with the Australian government and operators of the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre.
More than 1000 Manus Island Asylum seekers (pictured) will receive a share in $70 million
At least 1400 current and former Manus Island detainees will be paid in compensation
Slater and Gordon lawyers (pictured) hope the compensation will be paid before centre closes
‘I am comfortably satisfied that a figure of $70 million to be distributed without deduction of costs amongst participating group members is a fair and reasonable sum,’ he said.
‘My degree of satisfaction is not merely marginal but is reached with a strong degree of conviction.’
The judge said the settlement was a marked discount on the highest award the group members could have received if all had gone their way in a lengthy and complex trial.
But he said the collective weight of the risks involved justified securing a fair and reasonable compromise, thereby avoiding the prospect of loss or a significantly inferior outcome.
Legal firm Slater and Gordon hopes to get the compensation paid to the class action group members before the centre closes at the end of October.
Its practice group leader Rory Walsh said the settlement delivered a medium of justice for the detainees.
The taxpayer funded multi-million dollar figure has been described as fair and reasonable
The multi-million dollar class action will deliver ‘medium level of justice’ to the asylum seekers
‘These detainees came to Australia seeking refuge and protection. This was denied by successive Commonwealth governments,’ he told reporters.
Mr Walsh said the settlement put an end to the ‘fiction’ that the Australian government does not have a duty of care to the detainees held in the offshore immigration detention centre in Papua New Guinea.
‘We think that fiction is now at an end and the Commonwealth has a duty to these people and ought discharge that duty by treating them fairly.’
The $70 million ends the ‘fiction’ that the Australian government does not have a duty of care to the detainees (pictured) held in the offshore immigration detention centre
Salter and Gordon lawyers said the settlement delivered a medium of justice for the detainees
Lawyer Rory Walsh said had the case been determined under Australian rather than PNG law, the amount of damages would have been two to three times higher
About 800 detainees remain in the centre, facing uncertain future once closed by October 31
So far 1383 of the 1923 group members in class action registered to get share of the money
Mr Walsh said more were expected to sign up before the October 13 registration deadline
Mr Walsh said had the case been determined under Australian rather than PNG law, the amount of damages would have been two to three times higher.
He said the settlement outcome was in the best interests of the class action group.
‘The result that has been achieved in this case – against significant odds – will allow meaningful compensation to be paid to group members much more quickly than would otherwise have been the case.’
About 800 detainees remain in the centre, facing an uncertain future once it closes by October 31. Some are expected to be resettled as part of Australia’s deal with the US.
So far 1383 of the 1923 group members in the class action have registered to get their share of the compensation.
Mr Walsh said many more were expected to sign up before the October 13 registration deadline.
Objections raised with the court included that the compensation was too low and the settlement did not resolve the ongoing plight of those who remain on Manus or whose claims for refugee status are still to be determined.
Most of the objectors also registered to participate in the settlement should it be approved.
No money can be paid until the end of a 28-day appeal period, which begins with the court approval.
The government and centre operators settled the class action for $70 million, plus $20 million in costs, without any admission of liability.