Class action lawsuit over Covid-19 vaccine

At present, we continue to receive expressions of interest from potential group members, and no deadline has yet been set for when registrations must expire.
We also confirm that the Court has not set any deadline for opting out at this time.
The following is a brief overview of the progress of the case so far:
26 April 2023: The applicants filed an originating application, a statement of claim, and a genuine steps statement for bringing the class action;
28 April 2023: The applicants filed an amended originating application;
12 May 2023: The first, second, third and fifth respondents filed a notice of address for service, stating that the Australian Government Solicitor represents them;
24 May 2023: The Court set the initial date for the case management hearing to 5 June 2023;
30 May 2023: The fourth respondent filed a notice of address for service, stating that the Australian Government Solicitor represents them;
30 May 2023: The respondents requested an adjournment of the initial case management hearing to 10 July 2023 “due to the scope of the amended statement of claim and the novelty of the claims of negligence and misfeasance in public office”; and
31 May 2023: The Court adjourned the date of the initial case management hearing to 10 July 2023.
5 July 2023: Prior to the initial case management hearing, the respondents proposed consent orders and a position paper to the applicants and raised concerns regarding the applicants’ amended statement of claim.
6 July 2023: In response to the respondents’ proposed orders and position paper, the applicants proposed consent orders and a joint position paper (including the respondents’ position and the addition of the applicants’ position) to the respondents. The respondents proposed further amendments to the consent orders.
7 July 2023: The parties agreed on draft consent orders and submitted them to Her Honour Katzmann J. Her Honour made the orders. As part of these orders, the initial case management hearing scheduled for 10 July 2023 has been cancelled. The parties will instead proceed on the basis described in the orders. A copy of these can be found here. These orders are a positive step forward, as they allow the applicants to further amend their claims before a case management hearing is held on 20 November 2023.
11 August 2023: The parties agreed on amended draft consent orders and submitted them to Her Honour Katzmann J. Her Honour made the new orders. The new orders amend the orders of 7 July 2023 by pushing each deadline back by two weeks. This change was proposed by the applicants to give the applicants’ lawyer more time to amend the statement of claim. A copy of the amended orders can be found below. The case management hearing now takes place on 4 December 2023.
4 September 2023: The parties agreed on draft consent orders and submitted them to His Honour Nicholas J. The new orders amend the orders of 7 July 2023 as follows: The date in order 2 of the consent orders dated 7 July 2023 (“the Order”) is changed to 18 September 2023. The date in order 3 of the Order is changed to 30 October 2023. The date in order 4 of the Order is changed to 27 November 2023. Orders 5 and 6 are revoked and replaced by the following orders: The respondents file any interlocutory application for security for costs, summary judgment or strike out no later than 15 February 2024; The matter is listed for case management at 9.30 am on 4 March 2024 to schedule the hearing of the interlocutory applications. The parties must send any proposed minutes of orders to the associate to Justice Katzmann no later than 4.00 pm on 22 February 2024. A copy of the amended orders can be found below.
16 October 2023: The parties agreed on amended draft consent orders and submitted them to Her Honour Katzmann J. Her Honour issued the new orders. The new orders amend the orders of 4 September 2023 by pushing each deadline back by two months. This change was proposed by the respondents to give the respondents more time to request further and better particulars. A copy of the amended orders can be found below.
13 November 2023: The parties agreed on amended draft consent orders and submitted them to Her Honour Katzmann J. Her Honour issued the new orders. This change was proposed by the applicants to give the applicants’ lawyer more time to prepare a response. A copy of the amended orders can be found below.
14 December 2023: The parties agreed on amended draft consent orders and submitted them to Her Honour Katzmann J. Her Honour made the new orders. This change was proposed by the applicants to give the applicants’ lawyer more time to prepare a response to the respondents’ requests for further particulars. These orders were that: The date in order 2 of the orders made on 13 November 2023 is changed to 7 February 2024. The date by which the respondents must file and serve any interlocutory application for security for costs, summary judgment or strike out is extended to 22 February 2024. The date by which the parties must send any proposed minutes of orders to the Court is extended to 29 February 2024. The next case management conference remains listed for 4 March 2024.
9 February 2024: The parties agreed on amended draft consent orders and submitted them to Her Honour Katzmann J. Her Honour made the new orders. This change was proposed by the applicants to give the applicants’ lawyer more time to prepare a response to the respondents’ requests for further particulars. These orders were that: The date in order 2 of the orders made on 13 November 2023 is changed to 1 March 2024. The date by which the respondents must file and serve any interlocutory application for security for costs, summary judgment or strike out is extended to 12 April 2024. The first case management conference was listed for 12 April 2024.
The first case management hearing took place in the Federal Court in Sydney on 12 April 2024 before Her Honour Justice Katzmann. The hearing proceeded as expected and addressed procedural issues regarding how the case should proceed and when the parties can next appear in court. After the hearing, Her Honour Justice Katzmann issued orders, and a copy of these orders can be found below. The orders set the timeline for the further progress of the case.
On 12 April 2024, the respondents filed their application for strike out, summary judgment/dismissal and security for costs.
The respondents were to file submissions regarding these applications no later than 18 October 2024.
The applicants prepared reply submissions, and these were filed no later than 18 November 2024.
An interlocutory hearing on the applications was held on 2 December 2024 in the Federal Court in Sydney before Justice Katzmann.
After the interlocutory hearing, Her Honour Justice Katzmann made orders regarding further submissions and reply submissions. A copy of these orders can be found below.
On 10 April 2025, Her Honour Justice Katzmann delivered judgment on the interlocutory application. A copy of the judgment can be found below.
On 14 April 2025, NR Barbi’s solicitor advised that they had decided to withdraw as solicitors on the record.
Shortly thereafter, Mr Rob Laidley of Ihc Legal was engaged by the lead applicants and the litigation funder to handle an application for leave to appeal regarding the judgment delivered on 10 April 2025, which application was filed on 24 April 2025.
For the second half of 2025, advice and cost estimates were obtained from a number of solicitors and barristers regarding the proposed application for leave to file a new statement of claim. This ultimately culminated in Dominic Villa SC being briefed, Rose Legal being registered as solicitors, and an application being filed on 27 March 2026 for leave to file the new statement of claim.
A case management hearing took place on 24 April with a timetable set by Justice Owens for submissions regarding the application for leave and a hearing date for the application set for 23 and 24 July 2026. Link to this order below as Order 12.