After 20 years, action industry finds a class of its own

Key Points:

Australian courts could become the jurisdiction of choice outside the US for plaintiffs, lawyers and funders promoting class actions.

Since its introduction in 1992, the Australian class action regime has become a key feature of the legal landscape. Barely a day goes by without the threat of a new class action.

Australia has also made its mark on the class action stage internationally, its plaintiff-friendly regime and a thriving class action industry driven by an active litigation funding sector. As a result, Australia is the place outside North America where a corporation is most likely to find itself defending a class action.

The class action regime in this country comprises essentially identical rules in the federal court system and the courts of the two most populous states, NSW and Victoria.