Our Class Actions team secured justice, a financial settlement and an apology for thousands of West Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait pastoral workers whose wages were unpaid or underpaid for decades because of discriminatory legislation.
Western Australia stolen wages class action
Between 1936 and 1972 West Australian legislation controlled, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people:
Where they could work, travel and live
How much money they were paid
How they received their wages and entitlements
The legislation was supposed to protect First Nations West Australians. But it was discriminatory and instead caused significant hardship and exploitation. It was a period of great shame for the West Australian government.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people worked long hours without any pay at all, or without an appropriate amount of payment.
Stolen wages work
The work carried out by these highly skilled First Nations people directly contributed to the successful economic development of Western Australia and the growth of mining companies and pastoralists. Some of the work carried out by men, women and children included:
Stock work and mustering on pastoral stations
Domestic work, cooking, cleaning and caring for children
Work on missions in laundries and farms
Because of the discriminatory legislation, some worked for little to no wages at all, giving rise to the term ‘stolen wages.’ Some were given basic food and clothing in lieu of wages. Despite having to work in specified locations – such as cattle stations, far from home – housing was not provided.
The real-life impact of stolen wages
The real-life impact of West Australian wage control legislation and decades of stolen wages was that both the First Nations workers and their descendants – thousands of Australians – suffered intergenerational disadvantage.
Reduced or absent income meant that money wasn’t saved or passed on to the next generation. This impacted where people lived, their access to education, opportunity for paid employment, mental health and much more.
Stolen wages class action
Mervyn Street launched the stolen wages class action in 2020. Members of the stolen wages class action group included living claimants and descendant claimants:
Living claimants were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander persons who worked in Western Australia between 11 December 1936 and 9 June 1972 for little to no wages
Descendant claimants included living children or married or de facto spouses of now deceased Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander persons who worked in Western Australia between 11 December 1936 and 9 June 1972 for little to no wages
In 2023 prior to trial, the parties reached a settlement of the Western Australia stolen wages class action. The stolen wage settlement of up to $180.4 million to eligible living claimants and descendent claimants, was approved in December 2024 by the Federal Court of Australia.
Stolen wages settlement
The Federal Court’s approval of the stolen wages settlement means that it’s binding on all stolen wages class action group members, and payments can be made by the settlement administrator.
Financial compensation doesn’t correct past government wrongs, but the stolen wages settlement offers a way forward.
Western Australian government apology for stolen wages WA
In November 2023, the Western Australian government apologised to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people whose wages were stolen between 1936 and 1972. Premier Roger Cook made the government apology in parliament and acknowledged the poor treatment, hurt and loss suffered by the First Nations group members and their descendants.
The acknowledgement and apology, along with financial compensation, are recognition of a move towards reconciliation and healing.
Shine Lawyers is committed to being on the right side of Australia’s history and working to right wrong.
