Important Notice – Proposed amendment to group member definition
The Plaintiff proposes to amend the group member definition. If the Court approves this amendment it may change who the group members are and this might have an impact on who is affected by the proposed settlement.
The Supreme Court of Victoria has therefore ordered group members be notified about the proposed amendment to the group member definition of the Hotel Quarantine (Business Losses) Class Action and determined to hear the application for the amendment of the group member definition on 27 July 2026 at 10:30am (and before hearing the application for approval of the settlement).
Further details of the proposed amendment to the group member definition, including how you can object to the proposed amendment, can be found in the longform notice of proposed amendment to group member definition available here.
If you do not wish to object to the proposed amendment, you do not need to do anything. If you wish to object, you must follow the instructions set out in the notice and do so by 4:00 pm (AEST) on 10 July 2026.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions in relation to the Hotel Quarantine (Business Losses) Class Action and the proposed amendment to the group member definition are available below. If your enquiry is not addressed in the FAQ or if there is anything in the notice you are unsure about, you should seek independent legal advice or email Quinn Emanuel at enquiries@hotelquarantinesettlement.com.au.
IMPORTANT: This Court ordered notice is unrelated to the proposed settlement reached between the parties in March 2026. A separate notice will be sent to eligible persons about the proposed settlement once the court has determined the outcome of the plaintiff’s application to amend the group member definition.
Proposed settlement
On 16 March 2026, the parties reached an in-principle settlement of $125 million, including costs.
The proposed settlement is subject to Court approval. This means that the Court must first determine if the terms of the proposed settlement are just and reasonable. This process involves many steps, including a notification period to allow group members time to consider the proposed settlement. We anticipate that a notice about the proposed settlement will now be distributed sometime later this year.
The settlement approval will take several months. Assuming that the Court approves the settlement, the Settlement Administrator will then need to assess:
- does the registrant meet the definition of a group member;
- if the registrant is a group member, whether that group member is eligible to participate in the settlement; and
- if eligible, calculate the amount of compensation that group member is likely to receive based on their specific circumstances.
This process will also take some time.
It is important to note that the Settlement Administrator will be an independent person, appointed by the Court - it will not be Quinn Emanuel. Quinn Emanuel will not hold any information relevant to the Settlement Administrator's assessment by of your claim for compensation.
Enquiries about the proposed settlement and next steps
To ensure that we progress the proposed settlement efficiently and to maximise our resources, we are unlikely to be able to respond to any enquiries via email or phone that are already answered on our website. Our website will be updated regularly, and we encourage you to check it frequently.
Answers to commonly asked questions such as 'when will I be paid?' and 'how much will I be paid?' and 'Can I register now to participate in the settlement administration?' can be found in the FAQ section at the bottom of this page. Again, in the interest of allocating our resources appropriately, we will not be responding to those enquires.
Do you need to update your contact details?
Other than updating your contact email address, we are unable to accept changes to contact details at this time. There will be an opportunity to update your other contact details at a later stage. If you believe you are a group member and need to update your email address, please email us at enquiries@hotelquarantinesettlement.com.au and include 'Updated Contact Details' in the subject heading as well as your "old" contact details in the email so that we can locate your information.