AMP Commissions & Insurance Class Action

Class actions are an important mechanism within Australia’s legal system that allow large groups of people to come together to pursue a claim collectively.

Three criteria must be met for a class action to take place:

1. There must be seven or more people that have claims against the same defendant;

2. The claims must arise out of the same, similar, or related circumstances; and

3. The claims must relate to at least one common issue of law or fact.

Class actions in Australia work on an “opt-out model”. This means that anyone who fits within the definition of a “group member” is automatically part of the class action and will be bound by any court approved settlement of the proceeding or the judgment of the court, unless they opt out.

Due to the nature of class actions, the first stage of the proceeding can take anywhere between twelve months to three years or longer from the date of commencement to resolution and will depend on the particular case and the nature of the claim.

Unless a court approved settlement is reached, the first stage of the proceeding will only resolve the applicants’ claims and the common issues in the proceeding. The group member claims will be resolved individually in the second stage of the proceeding.

The class action is brought by Nigel Stack, Melita Winterton, Janelle Lodge and David Brittain (the Applicants).

The Respondents are AMP Financial Planning Pty Limited (AMPFP), Charter Financial Planning Limited (Charter), Hillross Financial Services Limited (Hillross), AMP Limited and Resolution LifeAustralasia Limited (formerly AMP Life Limited (AMP Life)).

The class action relates to insurance and/or financial product advice provided by authorised representatives of AMPFP, Charter and Hillross (the AMP Licensees).

It is alleged that financial advisers appointed as authorised representatives of AMPFP, Charter and Hillross (who may have operated under other business names) failed to give priority to their clients’ interests or to act in their clients’ best interests. This is because the:

• authorised representatives were allegedly incentivised through commissions and other benefits to recommend AMP Life Products and other insurance or financial products (Commissioned Products) to their clients.

• authorised representatives allegedly breached their obligations to their clients by receiving commissions for recommending Commissioned Products to their clients.

• authorised representatives allegedly failed to inform their clients that they could obtain substantially equivalent or better insurance policies (Death, Total and Permanent Disablement, Income Protection (or Temporary Salary Continuance), Business Overheads) from alternative insurers for lower premiums, resulting in their clients paying higher insurance premiums.

• the AMP Licensees failed to implement systems and processes to ensure the authorised representatives complied with their duties to their clients.

• authorised representatives charged clients ongoing service fees but did not provide the agreed ongoing services in exchange for those fees.

This class action seeks compensation for the:

• commissions paid on Commissioned Products;

• excess premiums paid by some group members on AMP Life Products; and/or

• ongoing service fees charged to some group members for services not provided (the Fee For No Service Claim),

during the period of 23 July 2014 to 15 February 2021, as a result of the financial advice given to Group Members by authorised representatives, and the conduct of the Respondents.

The class action relates to the AMP Life Products listed below which provided cover for one or more of the following:

• Death;

• Total & Permanent Disablement;

• Trauma;

• Loss of income (or Temporary Salary Continuance);

• Business Overheads.

The AMP Life Products are “Flexible Lifetime – Protection”, “Flexible Lifetime – Super”, “Flexible Super – Flexible Protection” and “Flexible Super – Super Protection”.

The class action relates to any financial or insurance products (including AMP Life Products) recommended by an authorised representative of AMP Financial Planning Limited, Charter Financial Planning Limited, Hillross Financial Services Limited and subsequently acquired by a group member, pursuant to which commissions were payable.

The AMP Life Products are “Flexible Lifetime – Protection”, “Flexible Lifetime – Super”, “Flexible Super – Flexible Protection” and “Flexible Super – Super Protection”.

Examples of other insurance and financial products include, but are not limited to, “PortfolioCare Pension Service”, “PortfolioCare Investment Service”, “Whole of Life Plan”, “Endowment Personal Super Plan”, “AMP Children's Endowment Insurance”, “AMP Elevate Income Insurance Plan”, and “AMP MyNorth Super”.

You will be a Group Member if:

1. you received personal advice from a financial adviser that was an authorised representative of AMP Financial Planning Limited (AMPFP), Charter Financial Planning Limited (Charter) or Hillross Financial Services Limited (Hillross); and

2. pursuant to that personal advice, you (by yourself or through your superannuation fund as a member) acquired, renewed and/or continued to hold a Commissioned Product; and

3. you held a Commissioned Product in respect of which commissions were paid during the period 23 July 2014 to 15 February 2021.

You might have been unaware that commissions were paid.

The authorised representatives may have operated under different business names to AMPFP, Charter and Hillross. There was a range of financial advice businesses that were part of the Respondents’ network.

Commissioned Products include AMP Life Products and other insurance and financial products, such as “PortfolioCare Pension Service”, “PortfolioCare Investment Service”, “Whole of Life Plan”, “Endowment Personal Super Plan”, “AMP Children's Endowment Insurance”, “AMP Elevate Income Insurance Plan”, and “AMP MyNorth Super”.

The AMP Life Products are “Flexible Lifetime – Protection”, “Flexible Lifetime – Super”, “Flexible Super – Flexible Protection” and “Flexible Super – Super Protection” and they provided cover for one or more of the following: Death, Total and Permanent Disablement, Trauma, Loss of Income (or Temporary Salary Continuance), Business Overheads.

To satisfy the first limb of the group member definition:

• you must have received ‘personal advice’ from an authorised representative of AMP Financial Planning Limited (AMPFP) or Charter Financial Planning Limited Charter) or Hillross Financial Services Limited (Hillross);

AND

• that ‘personal advice’ must have been in relation to a Commissioned Product.

The authorised representatives may have operated under different business names to AMPFP, Charter and Hillross. There was a range of financial advice businesses that were part of the Respondents’ network.

Commissioned Products include AMP Life Products and other insurance and financial products, such as “PortfolioCare Pension Service”, “PortfolioCare Investment Service”, “Whole of Life Plan”, “Endowment Personal Super Plan”, “AMP Children's Endowment Insurance”, “AMP Elevate Income Insurance Plan”, and “AMP MyNorth Super”.

The AMP Life Products are “Flexible Lifetime – Protection”, “Flexible Lifetime – Super”, “Flexible Super – Flexible Protection” and “Flexible Super – Super Protection” and they provided cover for one or more of the following: Death, Total and Permanent Disablement, Trauma, Loss of Income (or Temporary Salary Continuance), Business Overheads.

‘Personal advice’ means a recommendation or a statement of opinion or a report (of a recommendation or statement of opinion):

• that is given to you, or is directed to you;

• from an authorised representative of AMPFP, Charter or Hillross

• in circumstances where the provider of the advice has considered your objectives and/or your financial situation and/or your needs, or a reasonable person might expect the provider to have considered one or more of those matters; and

• that is intended to influence (or could reasonably be regarded as intended to influence) you in making a decision about an AMP Life Product or other insurance or financial product, for example:

  1. whether to take out a new AMP Life Product or other insurance or financial product (either within or outside of your superannuation fund); or

  2. whether to retain or renew an existing AMP Life Product or other insurance or financial product, either on the same or different terms, and for the same or a different amount; or

  3. as part of a review of your insurances or finances.

These examples are illustrative only and are not intended to cover the field as regards the type or scope of advice that you may have received.

The ‘personal advice’ may have been provided to you verbally (e.g. during a conference held in-person or using an online platform such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or during a telephone call) or in writing (e.g. in an email or a written Statement of Advice or report).

If you believe you consulted your financial adviser about your AMP Life Product, or other insurance or financial product, during the period 23 July 2014 to 15 February 2021, you are likely to have received advice, and we encourage you to register for the class action.

You do not have to pay any money out of pocket to participate in this class action and no money will be taken from your superannuation account.

The Applicants each entered into a litigation funding agreement with Woodsford, a litigation funder. This means that Woodsford has agreed to pay some of the Applicants’ costs of the AMP Commissions & Insurance Class Action, which includes legal fees and third-party costs. Shine Lawyers and Piper Alderman have carried, and continue to carry, the balance of the legal fees and third-party costs on a “no win no fee” arrangement.

The legal fees and costs to run the class action must be assessed before they are paid and are subject to final approval by the Court. The Court will only approve deductions for legal fees and costs that are considered fair and reasonable.

Before payments are made to eligible Group Members, the Applicants will seek an order from the Court that eligible Group Members contribute a proportion of the amount of compensation that they are awarded under the settlement towards the approved fees and costs of running the proceeding. This is called a Common Fund Order.

If a Common Fund Order is made, the approved fees and costs will be deducted from the settlement amount before any payments are made to eligible Group Members.

The Court will hear the Applicants’ application seeking approval of the settlement and proposed deductions at 10:15am AEDT on 23 October 2026 in Melbourne.

Further information on costs is set out in the Notice of Proposed Settlement sent to potential Group Members in the section headed “Litigation Funding and Costs”.

Yes, your contact details will remain confidential, and your consent will be sought before any of your personal information is disclosed.

Shine Lawyers, Piper Alderman and EnterClaim will only use your personal information strictly for the purpose of the AMP Commissions & Insurance Class Action and in accordance with Shine Lawyers’ and Piper Alderman’s privacy policies.

A copy of Shine’s Privacy Policy can be accessed at shine.com.au/privacy-policy.

A copy of Piper Alderman’s Privacy Policy can be accessed at piperalderman.com.au/privacy-policy.

If you received “Notice A” of the Notice of Proposed Settlement, you must verify your details by completing all mandatory fields of your registration form by 4.00pm AEST on 10 August 2026, if you wish to have your eligibility assessed to receive a payment under the proposed settlement. You will not be able to verify your details after this deadline.

You can only access your registration form at the Registration Portal online at ampcommissionsclassaction.enterclaim.com. At the Registration Portal, click “REGISTER” in the menu ribbon at the top of the screen and create and/or sign into your account. After you have signed in, you will need to enter the Unique Access Code printed in the email or letter sent to you with Notice A.

If you have received “Notice B” of the Notice of Proposed Settlement, you must complete and submit a registration form by 4.00pm AEST on 10 August 2026, if you wish to have your eligibility assessed to receive a payment under the proposed settlement. Any registrations received after this deadline will not be accepted.

You can only complete a registration form at the Registration Portal online at ampcommissionsclassaction.enterclaim.com. At the Registration Portal, click “REGISTER” in the menu ribbon at the top of the screen and create an account. After you have created an account and signed in, you will need to enter the Unique Access Code printed in the email or letter sent to you with Notice B.

If you have received “Notice C” of the Notice of Proposed Settlement, you must make an application to the Federal Court for a grant of leave to participate in the settlement before 23 October 2026 if you wish to participate in the proposed settlement. The application for leave will need to outline to the Court the reason(s) why you did not register by 4 July 2025. You should seek independent legal advice if you wish to pursue this option.

We are unable to confirm whether or not any late registrants will be granted leave by the Court to participate in the proposed settlement. It is ultimately at the Court’s discretion whether leave will be granted, and late registrations will be accepted.

If you are a Group Member who has not opted-out of the class action and you wish to object to the proposed settlement, you must complete a Notice of Objection and submit it to KordaMentha at the address below by 4.00pm AEST on 10 August 2026.

By email to: ampcommissionsclassaction@enterclaim.com; or

By post addressed to: AMP Commissions & Insurance Class Action c/- KordaMentha GPO Box 2985, Melbourne VIC 3001

A Notice of Objection was included with the Notice of Proposed Settlement and can also be downloaded from ‘Case Documents’ in the menu ribbon at the top of the screen.

It is not possible to estimate a specific figure that each person can expect to receive, or timeframes for when eligible Group Members may expect to receive compensation.

The Court will hear the application seeking approval of the proposed settlement at 10:15am AEDT on 23 October 2026 in Melbourne. At the hearing, the Applicants will also seek orders approving a proposed Settlement Distribution Scheme. The proposed Settlement Distribution Scheme will set out the principles for distribution of the settlement to eligible Group Members. A copy of the proposed Settlement Distribution Scheme will be available to download from the ‘Case Documents’ section of this webpage, Piper Alderman’s website, and the Registration Portal (ampcommissionsclassaction.enterclaim.com) before the settlement approval hearing.

Further updates will be provided following the settlement approval application.

The Applicants have each entered into litigation funding agreements with Woodsford (Funding Agreements). Under the Funding Agreements, the Applicants agreed that if the class action is successful (either through a judgment or settlement), they will apply for a Court order to:

1. repay, from the gross proceeds of the judgment or settlement:

   1. reasonable costs advanced by Woodsford in relation to the class action (including any fees, interim adverse costs, security for costs, or upfront insurance premiums relating to “after-the-event” insurance or adverse costs insurance); and

   2. Woodsford’s funding commission or “Success Fee”, fees deferred by Shine Lawyers and Piper Alderman and a 25% uplift on those deferred fees, and any unpaid (including deferred and contingent) insurance premiums due under any after-the-event insurance policy.

2. apply for an order that will fairly distribute the Applicants’ costs among all Group Members who have benefited from the action. This may be by way of what is known as a Common Fund Order, or it may be by another order of the Court.

The gross proceeds are the total amount received (including any settlement sum, or compensation, costs and damages award by the Court and interest) paid or credited to, in favour of, for the benefit of, or to the order of, the Applicants or Group Members, by the Respondents or any third party which relates to the subject matter of the class action.

Woodsford’s funding commission or “Success Fee” means 3.5 times the Cash Outlay.

The Cash Outlay is the total amount of legal and other fees and costs (including GST) advanced by Woodsford plus all other fees and costs relating to the class action reasonably incurred by Woodsford. Those costs include:

• Shine Lawyers’ and Piper Alderman’s fees;

• third party costs (including barristers’ fees); and

• upfront (but not deferred and contingent) premiums for after-the-event (ATE) insurance and the costs of any deeds of indemnity purchased from the ATE insurers to satisfy the Respondents’ requests and/or applications for security for costs.

Every class action settlement is subject to approval from the Federal Court.

The Court will hear the application seeking approval of the proposed settlement at 10:15am AEDT on 23 October 2026 in Melbourne. At the hearing, the Applicants will also seek orders approving a proposed Settlement Distribution Scheme. The proposed Settlement Distribution Scheme will set out the principles for distribution of the settlement to eligible Group Members.

If the Court approves the proposed settlement, an administrator of the Settlement Distribution Scheme will be appointed by the Court. The role of the administrator is to distribute compensation in accordance with the scheme and organise payment to eligible Group Members as efficiently as possible.

A copy of the proposed Settlement Distribution Scheme will be available to download from ‘Case Documents’ section of this webpage, Piper Alderman’s website, and the Registration Portal (ampcommissionsclassaction.enterclaim.com) before the settlement approval hearing.

The settlement, including any amounts to be deducted from it, are subject to approval by the Federal Court.

The Applicants will be seeking:

• approval for certain deductions from the settlement for the costs of running the proceeding, including Woodsford’s Success Fee; and

• a Common Fund Order in an amount consistent with Woodsford’s Success Fee (being 3.5 times the Cash Outlay), pursuant to the litigation funding agreements the Applicants signed with Woodsford.

These costs will only be deducted from the settlement if the Court determines they are fair and reasonable. Woodsford (the litigation funder), Piper Alderman and Shine Lawyers have agreed not to seek deductions, collectively, in excess of $21.75 million in respect of:

1. legal costs;

2. insurance costs;

3. funding commission; and

4. Lead Applicants and Sample Group Member reimbursement payments of:

• $20,000 to each of the four Applicants;

• $10,000 to the Estate of John Brotton. Mr Brotton was previously the Third Applicant before being replaced by Ms Lodge in August 2023, following his death; and

• $10,000 to the Sample Group Member.

If a Common Fund Order is made, the approved fees and costs will be deducted from the settlement before any payments are made to eligible Group Members

The Applicants will also be seeking approval of a proposed Settlement Distribution Scheme.

If the Court approves the proposed Settlement Distribution Scheme, it will appoint an administrator. The administrator’s role is to distribute compensation in accordance with the scheme and organise payment to eligible Group Members as efficiently as possible. The costs of administering the Settlement Administration Scheme and managing Group Members will also be deducted from the settlement in the amount(s) approved by the Court. Woodsford, Piper Alderman and Shine Lawyers estimate that these costs will be partly covered by interest earned on the settlement sum, which will be held in an interest-bearing controlled monies account.

Further information on costs is set out in the Notice of Proposed Settlement sent to potential Group Members in the section headed “Litigation Funding and Costs”.

If the Applicants’ proposal is approved, the settlement will be distributed as follows:

• First, repayment to Woodsford of the amounts it has paid in respect of the legal fees, third party costs and expenses of the Applicants in running the class action;

• Second, payment of Woodsford’s litigation funding commission (being its success fee), plus Piper Alderman and Shine Lawyers’ deferred fees that they held on risk and an uplift on those deferred fees, plus any unpaid insurance premiums relating to after-the-event insurance due, including any deferred and contingent premiums;

• Third, payment of the balance to all Group Members (including the Applicants and the Sample Group Member) in accordance with a distribution scheme approved by the Federal Court.

Woodsford, Piper Alderman and Shine Lawyers have agreed not to seek deductions, collectively, in excess of $21.75 million in respect of legal costs, insurance costs, funding commission and Lead Applicants and Sample Group Member reimbursement payments.

Please note that the amounts proposed to be deducted from the settlement are strictly subject to the Federal Court’s approval.

Further information on costs is set out in the Notice of Proposed Settlement sent to potential Group Members in the section headed “Litigation Funding and Costs”, including under the heading “Proposed Deductions”.

This class action seeks compensation for excess premiums charged to customers and commissions paid on Commissioned Products during the period 23 July 2014 to 15 February 2021. It does not make any allegations in respect of Group Members’ eligibility to receive cover under their AMP Life Products or other AMP insurance policies.

If you received “Notice A” of the Notice of Proposed Settlement, you must verify your details by completing all mandatory fields of your registration form by 4.00pm AEST on 10 August 2026, if you wish to have your eligibility assessed to receive a payment under the proposed settlement. You will not be able to verify your details after this deadline.

You can only access your registration form at the Registration Portal online at ampcommissionsclassaction.enterclaim.com. At the Registration Portal, click “REGISTER” in the menu ribbon at the top of the screen and create and/or sign into your account. After you have signed in, you will need to enter the Unique Access Code printed in the email or letter sent to you with Notice A.

If you have received “Notice B” of the Notice of Proposed Settlement, you must complete and submit a registration form by 4.00pm AEST on 10 August 2026, if you wish to have your eligibility assessed to receive a payment under the proposed settlement. Any registrations received after this deadline will not be accepted.

You can only complete a registration form at the Registration Portal online at ampcommissionsclassaction.enterclaim.com. At the Registration Portal, click “REGISTER” in the menu ribbon at the top of the screen and create an account. After you have created an account and signed in, you will need to enter the Unique Access Code printed in the email or letter sent to you with Notice B.

If you registered to participate in the AMP Commissions & Insurance Class Action by the Court-ordered deadline of 4 July 2025, you should receive “Notice A” of the Notice of Proposed Settlement. You should read the notice carefully as it outlines your options regarding the proposed settlement.

If you did not register by 4 July 2025 (or if you completed a late registration form after that date), you should receive “Notice C” of the Notice of Proposed Settlement. You should read the notice carefully as it outlines your options regarding the proposed settlement.

A member of the Commissions & Insurance Member Assistance Team can also check whether you have already registered to participate in the class action.

Because this class action seeks compensation for excess premiums charged to individual policy holders and the commissions paid on Commissioned Products, each policyholder should register separately.

Commissioned Products are platforms, insurance products and other financial products in respect of which commissions were payable to the financial product issuer. They include:

• the AMP Life Products: “Flexible Lifetime – Protection”, “Flexible Lifetime – Super”, “Flexible Super – Flexible Protection” and “Flexible Super – Super Protection”.

• Other insurance or financial products, such as “PortfolioCare Pension Service”, “PortfolioCare Investment Service”, “Whole of Life Plan”, “Endowment Personal Super Plan”, “AMP Children's Endowment Insurance”, “AMP Elevate Income Insurance Plan”, and “AMP MyNorth Super”.

If a policyholder (or joint policyholder) is deceased, the executor or administrator of the policyholder’s estate may register the claim on behalf of the estate.

You have received a notice because:

• you have registered for the class action (or completed a late registration form); and/or

• the Respondents’ records indicate that you were a client of an authorised representative of AMP Financial Planning Pty Limited (AMPFP), Charter Financial Planning Limited (Charter) or Hillross Financial Services Limited (Hillross) who, between 23 July 2014 and 15 February 2021 inclusive, acquired (yourself or through your superannuation fund as a member) an AMP Life Product.

The Respondents to this class action are AMPFP, Charter, Hillross, AMP Limited and Resolution Life Australasia Limited (formerly AMP Life Limited).

The Respondents were ordered by the Court to provide your contact details so that the Court approved Notice of Proposed Settlement could be sent to you.

You should read the notice carefully as it outlines the options available to you regarding the proposed settlement and the deadlines for exercising those options.

The Court-ordered deadline for Group Members to opt out of the class action was 4.00pm AEST on 4 July 2025.

If you did not return a completed and signed Opt out notice (Form 21) to the Victorian Registry of the Federal Court of Australia by 4 July 2025, but you still wish to opt out of the class action, you must make an application to the Federal Court seeking leave to opt out before 23 October 2026. The application for leave will need to outline to the Court the reason(s) why you did not opt out before 4 July 2025. You should seek independent legal advice if you wish to pursue this option.

EnterClaim is a secure digital class action administration platform developed by KordaMentha to streamline the collection, validation, and processing of claims.

Further information on EnterClaim can be found at https://enterclaim.com.

We keep this webpage updated with the latest information for the AMP Commissions & Insurance Class Action. For more information, and to keep updated, please read and monitor this webpage, the Piper Alderman webpage, and the Registration Portal (ampcommissionsclassaction.enterclaim.com).

The Notice of Proposed Settlement and the Registration Portal (ampcommissionsclassaction.enterclaim.com[CD1] ) are not a scam.

The notices sent to group members were approved by the Federal Court of Australia on 15 May 2026 in Nigel Peter Stack and Others v AMP Financial Planning Pty Limited and Ors, Federal Court of Australia File No VID 489 of 2020.

You should remain vigilant when accessing or providing information in relation to the AMP Commissions & Insurance Class Action and make sure you are dealing with persons from the Commissions & Insurance Member Assistance Team or Piper Alderman or Shine Lawyers.

If you have any concerns, and for more information about the class action, you should visit the following web pages:

• the Piper Alderman website: https://piperalderman.com.au/class-actions/commissions-class-actions/amp-commissions-class-action

• the Registration Portal: https://ampcommissionsclassaction.enterclaim.com

The settlement is for all claims brought in the proceeding, except for the claim that authorised representatives of AMPFP, Charter and Hillross charged some clients ongoing service fees but did not provide the agreed ongoing services in exchange for those fees (the Fee for No Service Claim).

The Fee for No Service Claim is not being settled, rather the Applicants will be seeking orders that Group Members’ Fee for No Service Claims be discontinued.

Accordingly, the Applicants are not proposing that there be any distribution to Group Members respect of that claim.