Manus Island detainees' $70m class action

THE $70 MILLION CLASS ACTION BY MANUS ISLAND DETAINEES:

WHAT IS IT?

* Class action claim for compensation on behalf of 1923 current and former detainees, covering majority of people held at Manus Island Regional Processing Centre since 2012

* Settled for $70 million plus costs (estimated $20 million)

* Largest human rights class action settlement in Australia and first successful one

* Must be approved by Victorian Supreme Court

* Majority of compensation relates to false imprisonment, but also damages for negligence

* Time spent in detention impacts individual compensation amounts, as well as any physical and psychological injuries

* Just under 800 men remain in centre

* Centre due to close by end October

* Class action launched by Slater and Gordon in December 2014

HOW MANY DETAINEES SUPPORT THE SETTLEMENT?

* 1383 registered to be part of settlement

* 164 group members have lodged objections; 145 of whom registered to participate if settlement is approved

* 56 group members want more time to opt out, which would preserve their legal rights to take separate action

* 215 group members haven't been able to be contacted; 177 of those are detainees who have returned to their country of origin

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

* Justice Cameron Macaulay to announce on Wednesday (September 6) if he approves settlement

* A 28-day appeal period then runs; no payments can be made until that ends

* During that period, further attempts to be made to reach detainees who could not be contacted; therefore registrations expected to now close October 13

* Lawyers hope to get funds distributed to detainees before centre closes October 31

WHO WAS THE ACTION AGAINST?

* Commonwealth of Australia

* Service providers G4S, between October 2012 and March 2014, and after that date Broadspectrum (formerly Transfield)

* Broadspectrum's security provider Wilson Security was a third party

* Settled without any admission of liability - government strongly refutes and denies all the claims

WHAT WAS THE NEGLIGENCE CLAIM?

* That detainees suffered physical and psychological injuries as result of conditions in which they were held at Manus Island

* Covered the period from November 21, 2012, to December 19, 2014 - including February 2014 riots in which one detainee died

WHAT WAS THE FALSE IMPRISONMENT CLAIM?

* That detainees were unlawfully held on Manus, given 2016 PNG Supreme Court ruling that detention on Manus was unconstitutional and therefore illegal

* Covered November 21, 2012, to May 12, 2016.