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What is the CDP class action?
Maurice Blackburn has started a class action against the Commonwealth government.
We are asking the government to pay compensation money and apologise to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were in the Community Development Program (CDP) between 1 July 2015 and 11 May 2021 and had to ‘Work for the Dole’.
What was the CDP?
The CDP was a Commonwealth employment program for people living in remote communities across Australia. Most people in CDP were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.
Under the CDP, the government had contracts with CDP providers about the requirements for people on Work for the Dole. Many people in the CDP had to work five days per week to get their Centrelink money. The government would fine people if they didn’t turn up, and some people had their Centrelink money cut off for weeks.
What was the CDP?
The CDP was a Commonwealth employment program for people living in remote communities across Australia.
Most people in CDP were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.
Under the CDP, the government had contracts with CDP providers about the requirements for people on Work for the Dole. Many people in the CDP had to work five days per week to get their Centrelink money. The government would fine people if they didn’t turn up, and some had their Centrelink money cut off for weeks.
More stories about the CDP class action
- About the class action
- What you need to do
- How the class action is being paid for
The case is about racial discrimination. It says that CDP was aimed against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and that they were treated worse than people in cities who were also on Work for the Dole. They had to work longer and received more fines.
When CDP began in 2015, many CDP participants were required to Work for the Dole for 25 hours, five days a week, every week of the year.
However, most people participating in Work for the Dole in cities, on the Jobactive program, were only required to work 15 hours per week for six months per year.
CDP participants were also much more likely to be fined than Jobactive participants. Many Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people had money taken out of their Centrelink payments, and sometimes were completely cut off from their payments for weeks.
You do not need to do anything.
Group members do not need to register to be part of the class action. You are already included.
We may provide updates during this class action. If you have an email address and want any updates on the case, you can give us your contact details here
You do not need to pay anything during the class action.
Maurice Blackburn and another company are funding the class action.
If we win the class action or the government agrees to pay compensation money, some of the money from the government will be paid to that company and to Maurice Blackburn for doing the work in the case.
The Court will decide how much these payments will be, but you will not have to pay them from your own saved money.
If we lose the class action, you will not have to pay anything.
Why has Maurice Blackburn started a legal case?
The case is about racial discrimination. It says that CDP was aimed against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and that they were treated worse than people in cities who were also on Work for the Dole. They had to work longer and received more fines.
Watch this video to learn more
When CDP began in 2015, many CDP participants were required to Work for the Dole for 25 hours, five days a week, every week of the year.
However, most people participating in Work for the Dole in cities, on the Jobactive program, were only required to work 15 hours per week for six months per year.
CDP participants were also much more likely to be fined than jobactive participants. Many Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people had money taken out of their Centrelink payments, and sometimes were completely cut off from their payments for weeks.
The CDP class action asks for compensation and an apology from the government.
Resources for group members and organisations
Below you can find helpful documents that you can download, print and share.
Frequently Asked Questions about the CDP class action
No.
Group members do not need to register to be part of the class action. You are already included.
We may provide updates during this class action. If you have an email address and want any updates on the case, you can give us your contact details here.
No.
Maurice Blackburn and another company are funding the class action.
If we win the class action or the government agrees to pay compensation money, some of the money from the government will be paid to that company and to Maurice Blackburn for doing the work in the case. The Court will decide how much these payments will be, but you will not have to pay them from your own saved money.
If we lose the class action, you will not have to pay anything.
People are part of this class action if they:
- are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people; and
- between 1 July 2015 and 11 May 2021:
a. had a job plan with a CDP provider; and
b. had to ‘work for the dole’ under that job plan; and
c. received a Centrelink payment (i.e. Newstart Allowance, Jobseeker Payment, Youth Allowance or Parenting Payment).
We don’t know how much compensation money group members may receive if we win the case.
Class actions usually take between 2 and 4 years.
Client confidentiality and privacy are very important to us. You can access our Privacy Policy here.
Maurice Blackburn is the leading class actions law firm in Australia.
One of Maurice Blackburn’s recent class actions was the NT Youth / Don Dale detention centre class action. It was a legal case against the Northern Territory government. We asked the government to pay compensation money to 1200 young people who were mistreated in youth detention. Many of them were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.
In 2021, the Northern Territory government agreed to pay $35 million before the case went to trial. The Federal Court approved this. The Court commended the way the case was conducted and how compensation money was distributed to group members.
You can send us an email at CDPClassAction@mauriceblackburn.com.au.
You can also call us on 1800 022 111. This number is free to call.
What Aboriginal organisations said about CDP
The CDP was the subject of a Senate enquiry in 2017. The Senate found that the CDP caused real harm to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It said that the fines often pushed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who lived in remote communities further into poverty. Many organisations also spoke out against CDP during the enquiry.
With CDP we are seeing ‘skyrocketing’ rates of financial penalties that are having harsh and discriminatory impacts on jobseekers in remote Indigenous communities. Families and children are unfairly penalised; in some community stores, food sales have dropped since the introduction of CDP in July 2015.”
CDP locks people into a system of continual bureaucratic interference in their lives, of penalties and of poverty. CDP does not stimulate labour demand. It does not provide pathways for young people into employment and does nothing to support the creation of local enterprises to create new employment opportunities.
Despite having only one twentieth of the caseload, CDP now accounts for more penalties than the whole of the Jobactive system. The communities and families that are affected by these financial penalties are already amongst the poorest in the country. Penalties are having an impact on families’ ability to put food on the table, to pay rent, and the pressure on those with stable incomes is mounting.”
Aboriginal Peak Organisations of the Northern Territory, Submission 37 for the Senate Enquiry into CDP (June 2017).
“The evidence has shown that CDP is causing real harm to people engaged in CDP…Suspension of payments, in conjunction with reduced pay and conditions under the CDP, is resulting in individuals and communities being pushed further into poverty…In some circumstances, the CDP compliance regime is forcing people to leave their homes, families and communities simply to survive…The committee notes the higher penalties and requirements for CDP participants relative to the non-remote jobseeker program, JobActive. It has not been made clear to the committee why this is the case…Work-like activities are described as 'pointless' as they do not relate to the interests of the participants or the job opportunities that exist in the local area… CDP does not lead to job creation or pathways to real jobs.”