Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda

Australian Class Actions

Settlement of the Australian class actions

The Federal Court of Australia has approved the settlement of the Australian class actions against Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda over the diesel emissions issue, which was negotiated by Maurice Blackburn and Bannister Law on behalf of eligible Australian motorists. The settlement means that:

• The Volkswagen Group will, without admission of liability, pay approximately AU$120 million to eligible Australian motorists plus legal costs and other payments
• The estimated average settlement payment per vehicle is AU$2,800, subject to the final assessment of all claims registered by Australian motorists
• The range of settlement payments per vehicle, calculated in accordance with the method developed by the lawyers acting for the applicants, is approximately AU$1,589 to AU$6,554, depending on factors such as the type of vehicle and its age

More detail about the settlement which has now been approved is contained in the Settlement Notice, which was distributed to potentially eligible Australian motorists in December 2019 and is available here.

A copy of the revised settlement scheme, approved by the Federal Court on 1 April 2020, is also available here.

On 13 May 2020, the Federal Court delivered its written judgment in relation to the approval of the settlement. A copy of the judgment is available here.

How do I claim a settlement payment?

The registration process to claim a settlement payment has now closed. If you did not register by midnight 26 March 2020, you will not be entitled to receive any settlement payment.

There are two exceptions to this:

• If you started registering your claim (that is, by entering a valid VIN for an affected vehicle) by midnight 26 March 2020, but have not yet completed it, you have until 9 April 2020 to complete your claim. If you fail to complete your claim by that date, you will not be entitled to receive any settlement payment. Please log-in to your account (using the button at the top of the screen), click the “Vehicles” tab and then “Continue Claim” to complete your claim.
• If a claim has been registered in the wrong name or by the incorrect person, you may complete a claim correction. Maurice Blackburn will generally direct you to do this if it is required. Please click the “Claim Correction” tab to complete a claim correction.

Please note that you may need to provide the following information to complete your claim or claim correction – we recommend that you find or obtain relevant documents or information before you complete your claim or claim correction:

• The VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) for your affected vehicle
• If you leased the affected vehicle from somebody else or to somebody else, the lease agreement or contract
• If you are registering the claim on behalf of an entity or another person (such as a business or company or somebody without legal capacity), authorisation to register the claim on their behalf

You may also be required to provide documentation demonstrating that you held an interest in the affected vehicle as at either 18 September 2015 or 3 October 2015. In this event, we encourage you to provide a certificate of registration for the vehicle, which records its VIN and your name, from before either of those dates and another from after.

Am I entitled to receive a settlement payment?

Under the settlement, any person who held an interest in an affected 1.6 or 2.0 litre “EA189” diesel engine Volkswagen, Audi or Skoda vehicle as at either 18 September 2015 or 3 October 2015 is eligible to claim a settlement payment. Most commonly, an “interest” in an affected vehicle will mean ownership of the vehicle as at either of those dates. It may also mean certain types of lease.

Subject to the exceptions above, you must have registered a claim by midnight 26 March 2020 in order to be entitled to receive a settlement payment.

Questions 

For a fast answer to your question, we suggest checking the "FAQs" tab above.

Contact us

For further information or if you have any other questions, please contact our team by email at vw@mauriceblackburn.com.au or by telephone on 1800 517 397.