Checklist · Class Actions / Representative Proceedings
Settlement approval application checklist (Federal Court class action, s 33V and GPN-CA)
Step-by-step checklist for seeking Federal Court approval of a class action settlement: settlement terms, the two-stage interlocutory application, the notice to class members, the evidence the Court expects and post-approval reporting.
- Kind
- Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Where it applies
- Australia, Commonwealth
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 18 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 18 October 2026 against the 4 authorities it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use from the moment settlement is in prospect at mediation, so the settlement deed, the notice and the evidence are built to the Court's requirements, and again at each return of the approval application.
Used for these tasks
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
AI may track the steps, check the draft notice against the practice note list and assemble the court book; the affidavits, counsel's opinion and submissions are written by lawyers.
AI may
- Check a draft settlement notice against each item in GPN-CA para 15.2 and list what is missing
- Build the timetable of returns, notice dates, objection deadlines and the hearing from the orders
- Index objections and expressions of support received from class members for the lawyer to read
AI must not
- Must not draft or outline any affidavit, including the solicitor's affidavit in support of approval
- Must not draft counsel's confidential opinion or summarise it in any document that is not confidential
- Must not characterise class member objections or decide whether the settlement is fair and reasonable
The lawyer checks
- The settlement deed gives no releases, indemnities or covenants beyond the claims in the proceeding without class members' authority (GPN-CA para 14.4)
- The notice approved by the Court has actually been given in the way ordered, and proof of distribution is ready
- The evidence addresses each GPN-CA para 15.5 factor, and costs and funding deductions are supported and were disclosed to class members as para 5 requires
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Class Actions / Representative Proceedings
- Opt-out notice, notice distribution plan and settlement-notice checklist (Federal Court class action)
- Retainer letter and conditional costs agreement for a representative applicant (Federal Court class action)
- Litigation funding agreement and costs review checklist (including common fund orders and Victorian group costs orders)
- Pre-filing memo: Part IVA threshold requirements and class definition
- Settlement distribution scheme (with safeguards for technology-assisted claims assessment)
- Periodic update letter to group members (clients and registered group members)
- Letter to the respondent's lawyers about communications with class members
- Group member registration and intake protocol (including AI triage of registrations)
- Prompt template with guardrails: reconciling registrations to the class definition
All precedents for Class Actions / Representative Proceedings · Tasks and AI use in this area