Compensation over land contamination

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compensation package
A banner put up by Williamtown residents on PFAS contamination. Photo: Peter Stoop

A compensation package of $86 million is set to be paid to members of a Williamtown class action into the Department of Defence’s use of toxic fire-fighting foam.

The previously confidential figure comes under a total payout of $212.5 million, which will settle three class actions launched by victims of land pollution caused by the presence of per-and-poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Katherine, in the Northern Territory, will receive $92.5 million, while Oakey, in Queensland, has been handed $34 million.

Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds announced the Federal Government had reached an in-principle agreement in a joint statement with the Minister for Veteran Affairs, Darren Chester, late last month.

“Defence sees itself as part of the fabric of these communities and the government remains committed to engaging with those impacted by PFAS contamination,” the statement read.

“Reaching a settlement is not the end of Defence’s engagement in these communities, however, it does represent an important milestone on what has been a difficult journey for many people over the past few years.

“The government remains committed to concluding the environmental investigations into PFAS contamination on and near Defence facilities across Australia, and to the ongoing monitoring and engagement with communities once investigations are complete.”

A spokesperson for the Williamtown residents’ legal team said the next step for the Federal Court was to consider the adequacy of these amounts in all the circumstances and, if satisfied they were fair and reasonable, approve a distribution process to class members.

This approval is expected to be sought at the next scheduled meeting on Monday 6 April.

“From there, we intend to communicate directly with class members to inform them of the proposed settlement distribution and next steps as quickly as we can,” the spokesperson said.

“Our aim is to ensure that the process happens as quickly as practically possible and that it is not unnecessarily complex – these contaminated communities have waited long enough.”

Williamtown residents were first alerted to the contamination in September 2015, despite Defence detecting the harmful chemicals at the RAAF base three years earlier. 

The settlement may now open further legal action from communities who have been exposed to contamination at other Department of Defence sites across the country.