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ARTICLE · 26 OCTOBER 2026

Rethinking Risk: Inside Class Actions In Australia 2026

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
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Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

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Class actions have become a recognised enterprise risk, shaped by cyber incidents, regulatory scrutiny, shareholder expectations, ESG obligations and emerging technologies. Organisations can’t afford to view them as isolated legal events.

United StatesAccounting and Audit
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
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Class actions have become a recognised enterprise risk, shaped by cyber incidents, regulatory scrutiny, shareholder expectations, ESG obligations and emerging technologies. Organisations can’t afford to view them as isolated legal events.

Our survey of senior legal, governance and risk professionals across corporate Australia reveals a clear shift: class action risk is increasingly viewed as a Board-level issue requiring stronger governance, oversight and organisational readiness.

The boardroom shift

Our survey confirms what many directors already sense intuitively: class action risk is broadening, and the governance questions it raises are becoming more complex. Over half of the organisations we surveyed rate their concern about class action exposure at 4 or 5 out of 5, a figure that reflects the reality of an increasingly active litigation environment.

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