Summary

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The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by MP for Pearce and Attorney-General Christian Porter (Liberal), which means it passed.

You can track the inquiry on the Committee's website.

Motion text

That the following matter be referred to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services for inquiry and report by 7 December 2020:

Whether the present level of regulation applying to Australia's growing class action industry is impacting fair and equitable outcomes for plaintiffs, with particular reference to the following:

(1) what evidence is available regarding the quantum of fees, costs and commissions earned by litigation funders and the treatment of that income;

(2) the impact of litigation funding on the damages and other compensation received by class members in class actions funded by litigation funders;

(3) the potential impact of proposals to allow contingency fees and whether this could lead to less financially viable outcomes for plaintiffs;

(4) the financial and organisational relationship between litigation funders and lawyers acting for plaintiffs in funded litigation and whether these relationships have the capacity to impact on plaintiff lawyers' duties to their clients;

(5) the Australian financial services regulatory regime and its application to litigation funding;

(6) the regulation and oversight of the litigation funding industry and litigation funding agreements;

(7) the application of common fund orders and similar arrangements in class actions;

(8) factors driving the increasing prevalence of class action proceedings in Australia;

(9) what evidence is becoming available with respect to the present and potential future impact of class actions on the Australian economy;

(10) the effect of unilateral legislative and regulatory changes to class action procedure and litigation funding;

(11) the consequences of allowing Australian lawyers to enter into contingency fee agreements or a court to make a costs order based on the percentage of any judgment or settlement;

(12) the potential impact of Australia's current class action industry on vulnerable Australian business already suffering the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic;

(13) evidence of any other developments in Australia's rapidly evolving class action industry since the Australian Law Reform Commission's inquiry into class action proceedings and third-party litigation funders; and

(14) any matters related to these terms of reference.

Votes Passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Adam Bandt Melbourne Australian Greens No
Australian Labor Party (40% turnout) 0 Yes 27 No
Anne Aly Cowan No
Chris Bowen McMahon No
Tony Burke Watson No
Mark Butler Hindmarsh No
Terri Butler Griffith No
Jason Clare Blaxland No
Libby Coker Corangamite No
Julie Collins Franklin No
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs No
Joel Fitzgibbon Hunter No
Mike Freelander Macarthur No
Patrick Gorman Perth No
Chris Hayes Fowler No
Julian Hill Bruce No
Stephen Jones Whitlam No
Catherine King Ballarat No
Andrew Leigh Fenner No
Richard Marles Corio No
Emma McBride Dobell No
Peta Murphy Dunkley No
Amanda Rishworth Kingston No
Joanne Ryan Lalor No
Bill Shorten Maribyrnong No
David Smith Bean No
Meryl Swanson Paterson No
Matt Thistlethwaite Kingsford Smith No
Tim Watts Gellibrand No
Anthony Albanese Grayndler Absent
Sharon Bird Cunningham Absent
Linda Burney Barton Absent
Josh Burns Macnamara Absent
Anthony Byrne Holt Absent
Jim Chalmers Rankin Absent
Nick Champion Spence Absent
Lisa Chesters Bendigo Absent
Sharon Claydon Newcastle Absent
Pat Conroy Shortland Absent
Milton Dick Oxley Absent
Justine Elliot Richmond Absent
Steve Georganas Adelaide Absent
Andrew Giles Scullin Absent
Luke Gosling Solomon Absent
Ed Husic Chifley Absent
Ged Kearney Cooper Absent
Matt Keogh Burt Absent
Peter Khalil Wills Absent
Madeleine King Brand Absent
Brian Mitchell Lyons Absent
Rob Mitchell McEwen Absent
Daniel Mulino Fraser Absent
Shayne Neumann Blair Absent
Brendan O'Connor Gorton Absent
Clare O'Neil Hotham Absent
Julie Owens Parramatta Absent
Alicia Payne Canberra Absent
Graham Perrett Moreton Absent
Fiona Phillips Gilmore Absent
Tanya Plibersek Sydney Absent
Michelle Rowland Greenway Absent
Warren Snowdon Lingiari Absent
Anne Stanley Werriwa Absent
Susan Templeman Macquarie Absent
Kate Thwaites Jagajaga Absent
Maria Vamvakinou Calwell Absent
Anika Wells Lilley Absent
Josh Wilson Fremantle Absent
Tony Zappia Makin Absent
Rebekha Sharkie Mayo Centre Alliance Absent
Mark Coulton Parkes Deputy Speaker Absent
Helen Haines Indi Independent Yes
Zali Steggall Warringah Independent Yes
Andrew Wilkie Clark Independent No
Bob Katter Kennedy Katter's Australian Party Yes
Liberal National Party (25% turnout) 1 Yes 0 No
Julian Simmonds Ryan Yes
Angie Bell Moncrieff Absent
Phillip Thompson Herbert Absent
Terry Young Longman Absent
Liberal Party (50% turnout) 28 Yes 0 No
Karen Andrews McPherson Yes
Scott Buchholz Wright Yes
Peter Dutton Dickson Yes
Paul Fletcher Bradfield Yes
Nicolle Flint Boothby Yes
Josh Frydenberg Kooyong Yes
Celia Hammond Curtin Yes
Greg Hunt Flinders Yes
Craig Kelly Hughes Yes
Andrew Laming Bowman Yes
Sussan Ley Farrer Yes
Gladys Liu Chisholm Yes
Nola Marino Forrest Yes
Fiona Martin Reid Yes
Melissa McIntosh Lindsay Yes
John McVeigh Groom Yes
Christian Porter Pearce Yes
Rowan Ramsey Grey Yes
Stuart Robert Fadden Yes
Dave Sharma Wentworth Yes
Michael Sukkar Deakin Yes
Angus Taylor Hume Yes
Dan Tehan Wannon Yes
Alan Tudge Aston Yes
Bert Van Manen Forde Yes
Lucy Wicks Robertson Yes
Jason Wood La Trobe Yes
Ken Wyatt Hasluck Yes
John Alexander Bennelong Absent
Katie Allen Higgins Absent
Kevin Andrews Menzies Absent
Bridget Archer Bass Absent
Russell Broadbent Monash Absent
David Coleman Banks Absent
Vince Connelly Stirling Absent
Warren Entsch Leichhardt Absent
Trevor Evans Brisbane Absent
Jason Falinski Mackellar Absent
Ian Goodenough Moore Absent
Andrew Hastie Canning Absent
Alex Hawke Mitchell Absent
Luke Howarth Petrie Absent
Steve Irons Swan Absent
Julian Leeser Berowra Absent
Scott Morrison Cook Absent
Ben Morton Tangney Absent
Ted O'Brien Fairfax Absent
Tony Pasin Barker Absent
Gavin Pearce Braddon Absent
Melissa Price Durack Absent
James Stevens Sturt Absent
Ross Vasta Bonner Absent
Andrew Wallace Fisher Absent
Rick Wilson O'Connor Absent
Tim Wilson Goldstein Absent
Trent Zimmerman North Sydney Absent
National Party (47% turnout) 7 Yes 0 No
Darren Chester Gippsland Yes
Pat Conaghan Cowper Yes
Damian Drum Nicholls Yes
Kevin Hogan Page Yes
David Littleproud Maranoa Yes
Michael McCormack Riverina Yes
Anne Webster Mallee Yes
George Christensen Dawson Absent
Andrew Gee Calare Absent
David Gillespie Lyne Absent
Barnaby Joyce New England Absent
Michelle Landry Capricornia Absent
Llew O'Brien Wide Bay Absent
Ken O'Dowd Flynn Absent
Keith Pitt Hinkler Absent
Tony Smith Casey Speaker Absent
Totals (45% turnout) 39 Yes – 29 No