First Nations class action discontinued due to funds

A landmark class action against the Queensland government over claims it failed to reunite First Nations families has fallen over.

The Federal Court case on behalf of hundreds of families was launched against the state's child safety department in 2023.

The action alleged Indigenous children who were removed from their families and the parents who had their children removed experienced discrimination at the hands of the government.

The department not only refused or failed to reunite families but it also did not support children within the system to learn and practice their culture, language or connection to Country, the action claimed.

The group members were seeking financial compensation, a public apology, a consultation process to restore family relationships, and trauma-informed training for department staff.

But the case was officially discontinued on Wednesday because there was no longer litigation funding in place.

According to orders published by the Federal Court, the case was launched with the support of a litigation funding agreement from UK funder Therium Litigation Finance Atlas.

The company terminated their support in September 2025 and lawyers for the so-called DOCS Class Action were unable to find new funding.

As a result, they filed an application to the Federal Court in April, seeking the class action lawsuit be discontinued because it was no longer funded.

In September, Judge Craig Dowling determined it would not be unfair, unreasonable or adverse to the interests of the group members if the case was discontinued.

The case was disbanded on Wednesday with an official notice of discontinuance was filed on Friday.

In a notice from the court, Judge Dowling said class action group members were not prevented from launching fresh legal action against the department in the future.

The members will also not be liable for any legal costs in connection with the discontinuance of the case, the judge said.

An agreement to pay $350,000 of the Queensland government's legal costs was struck, on the proviso the debt was covered by Therium, not the lead applicants.