On 9 August 2024, Justice Dowling of the Federal Court delivered his Judgment on the State of Queensland’s (the respondent) application to transfer proceedings from the Victorian Registry to the Queensland Registry, finding in favour of the Applicants, who Bottoms English Lawyers represent.

His Honour noted at [12] of his reasons for judgment:

“Whilst it is preferable that proceedings are issued at the Registry at which they have the greater connection, for the reasons set out below, there is no need to transfer the proceedings from the Victorian Registry to the Queensland Registry.”

His Honour further notes, from [27] – [30]:

“Further, as identified above, it is also clear that a number of witnesses will be located in remote locations throughout Queensland and will be First Nations people requiring, as all parties agreed, culturally appropriate witness examination. In that respect, the parties have all indicated a preparedness to hear evidence on country in remote locations throughout Queensland and to cooperate in the methods of hearing.

In order to deal with the matters raised by the respondent, and taking account of the acknowledgements and cooperation of the applicants, the Court will accommodate hearings:

1. by video link for case management hearings, uncomplicated interlocutory hearings or when otherwise convenient;
2. in person in Brisbane;
3. on country in Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton or other remote locations; and
4. will livestream all hearings unless otherwise agreed.

Those matters accommodate the respondent’s concerns and enable the Court to have regard to considerations of sound case management, the national character of the court and practical considerations including the balance of convenience of the parties.

In all of those circumstances, there is no need or utility to transfer the matters from the Victorian Registry to the Queensland Registry. The applications to transfer the proceedings will be dismissed.”

The interlocutory applications brought by the respondent in relation to the Pleadings, which sought to “strike out” paragraphs, have been adjourned.

You can watch the livestream of the hearings by visiting this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/@FederalCourtAus.

Registration by group members is still open by visiting the Registration page of the website.

It is important to remember that class actions can be very slow to resolve, and is likely to take two or more years before there is an outcome.

Please continue to check this page for updates, and pass along the website to anyone you think may be an eligible group member. We welcome anyone with questions to get in touch by using the Contact page, or using the details below:

Ph: 1800 405 405

E: docs@belaw.com.au

On 12 November 2023, we (the Applicants) lodged two cases against the State of Queensland (known as the Respondents), alleging breaches of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) and a breach of the Child Placement Principles within the Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld). You can read more about the basis of the case on the About the Case page.

The two cases (the parent class action and the child class action) will be managed by the court together, and will be referred to as the DOCS Class Action by us. The DOCS Class Action has recently been allocated to Justice Dowling in the Melbourne Registry of the Federal Court.

The State have lodged two interlocutory applications against the Applicants. An interlocutory application is an application to the court brought by a party to deal with a specific dispute in a proceeding, after the proceeding has started. One application is for the cases to be transferred to Brisbane from Melbourne, and the other one is to “strike out” a number of paragraphs within the Statements of Claim. These applications will be heard on 25 July before Dowling J in Melbourne. You can watch the livestream of the hearings by visiting this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/@FederalCourtAus.

Registration by group members is still open by visiting the Registration page of the website.

It is important to remember that class actions can be very slow to resolve, and is likely to take two or more years before there is an outcome.

Please continue to check this page for updates, and pass along the website to anyone you think may be an eligible group member. We welcome anyone with questions to get in touch by using the Contact page, or using the details below:

Ph: 1800 405 405

E: docs@belaw.com.au