Robodebt victims have spoken out against class action lawyers because of objections to the federal government’s offer to settle themselves with $ 1.2 billion without recognizing legal liability.

The federal court heard “harrowing stories” about victims of the illicit Commonwealth automated system that matched tax and Centrelink data to reclaim benefits that the government said were overpaid.

“If the settlement is approved, there will be a lot of people who have not received any money but have given up their rights … and there are people here who have lost their children,” Judge Bernard Murphy said Thursday.

The system known as Robodebt was ruled illegal in 2019 after the federal court found that Centrelink could not have been satisfied that the automatically calculated debts were correct.

One man, Jeremy, shared his experience with the “targeted punitive” program. He raised concerns that the deal previously offered by the Commonwealth would allow politicians to publicly avoid Robodebt being illegal.

He also raised concerns that Gordon Legal, the firm behind the class action lawsuit, would be the primary beneficiary.

“The government will have used state power to persecute the most vulnerable members of society and then used public funds to prevent their accountability,” said Jeremy.

“In contrast, the victims will have endured tremendous stress and anxiety, which will benefit a wealthy law firm.”

Others raised concerns about the transparency of the law firm’s costs, some details of which have not been made public.

Judge Murphy said there must be “a good reason the expense cannot be read”.

“But I can’t see anything embarrassing,” added the judge.

Bernie Quinn QC, who worked for Gordon Legal, said while some people would not receive compensation under the settlement they would receive a “closure.”

Jennifer Miller said Robodebt played a “very prominent” role when her son Rhys Cauzzo committed suicide about four years ago after being persecuted by Centrelink and debt collection agencies.

Ms. Miller said she was glad the money had been returned but declined to make the settlement as no one in power had been held accountable.

“The only thing I’ve ever had is platitudes – I wasn’t respected,” she told the court.

“My objection is that there was no accountability. This turned out to be an illegal process at the beginning of the play.”

Ms. Miller said Centrelink persecuted her son despite knowing he had mental health problems and also gave private information about him to the media.

More than 500 people objected to the deal and many told “harrowing stories,” said Judge Murphy.

Another woman told the court that her partner and father took their own lives after being followed by debt collection agencies.

“The emotional toll is absolutely ridiculous,” she said.

One man said his debt was reduced from more than $ 3,000 to $ 400 after spending six months providing materials to authorities, but the stress he suffered meant he was no longer working could.

He said the settlement in its current form means that he will not receive any compensation for his mental suffering.

“That’s shocking, isn’t it?” the man said.

“I think this is totally wrong – I run around all over the place and they don’t take my word at all.”

Another man, aged 45, said he spent a tenth of his life looking after and working on his Robodebt case.

It was previously announced that the victims will receive $ 112 million in compensation, $ 720 million repaid, and $ 400 million in unlawful debt repaid.

Income averaging no longer serves as the sole proof of possible indebtedness.

The hearing to determine the final shape of the settlement is expected to continue on Friday.

Australian Associated Press