Knox Class Action (Facilitation) Bill 2026

Summary

People who receive settlement money from the Knox class action lawsuit — which compensates victims of the illegal Robodebt scheme — will be protected from having to repay that money to the government or having it counted as income for welfare purposes. The legislation exempts these settlement payments from three major federal laws: the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, the Social Security Act 1991, and the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986. Normally, when someone receives a large lump sum payment, the government can recover money owed under these schemes and can reduce or cancel welfare payments based on the new income; this change prevents that from happening for Robodebt victims. This matters because without the exemption, people harmed by the government's unlawful debt-collection scheme could lose most or all of their compensation to government recovery and welfare cuts, defeating the purpose of the settlement.