Hino Class Action

You may be a Group Member in the Hino Class Action if by 17 April 2023 you purchased, leased or otherwise acquired an interest in Australia in a Hino branded vehicle fitted with a diesel engine that was manufactured during the period from 1 January 2003 to 22 August 2022 and are not any of the following:

• a Hino authorised dealer;
• a related body corporate (as defined by s 50 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act)) of Hino; or
• a Justice or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria or a Justice or the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia.

Only Group Members that registered by 4pm on 2 May 2025 or late registrants that registered by 25 July 2025 will be eligible to participate in the settlement administration.

The registration period has closed.

The deadline to register to participate in the proposed settlement of the Hino class action has passed.

Group Members were required to register before 4pm on 2 May 2025. The Court permitted group members who registered as late registrants by 25 July 2025 to participate in the settlement administration. These are Court ordered deadlines, and Maurice Blackburn does not have the discretion to accept any further registrations.

The Hino Class Action settlement administration will not impact any decision you make with respect to undertaking repairs on your vehicle.

Please note that the costs of any repairs are outside the scope of the Hino Class Action and you will not be able to submit a claim for reimbursement for any costs you incur.

Yes, you can sell your vehicle if you want to.

However, the Hino Class Action Confidential Loss Assessment Methodology provides how group member entitlements will be determined.  Group member entitlements include a component for the reduction in the value of the affected vehicles. In a recent decision (see here Williams v Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited [2024] HCA 38), the High Court held that a person’s entitlement to recover reduction in value damages passes with title of the goods.  

This means that if you sell your vehicle during the settlement administration, you will not be entitled to compensation under the Settlement Distribution Scheme for the reduction in value of your vehicle.  Depending on your claim, you may still be entitled to a distribution to compensate you for other loss or damage suffered, which will be determined in accordance with the Confidential Loss Assessment Methodology.

You must notify us if you sell your vehicle during the settlement administration.  During the key stages of the administration, you will be asked to confirm that you still own the vehicle.

When a vehicle is written off, title to the vehicle is typically transferred to the insurer or other party paying the write-off value. This means that you will no longer own the vehicle.

The Hino Class Action Confidential Loss Assessment Methodology provides how group member entitlements will be determined.  Group member entitlements include a component for the reduction in the value of the affected vehicles. In a recent decision (see here Williams v Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited [2024] HCA 38), the High Court held that a person’s entitlement to recover reduction in value damages passes with title of the goods.  

This means that if your vehicle is written off during the settlement administration and title is transferred from you to another party, you will not be entitled to compensation under the Settlement Distribution Scheme for the reduction in value of your vehicle.  Depending on your claim, you may still be entitled to a distribution to compensate you for other loss or damage suffered, which will be determined in accordance with the Confidential Loss Assessment Methodology.

You must notify us if your vehicle is written off during the settlement administration.  During the key stages of the administration, you will be asked to confirm that you still own the vehicle.

Please do not provide bank account details to us until we ask you to do so. Bank details will only be collected from eligible group members who are determined as entitled to receive a distribution, and these details will be collected via a secure method at the appropriate time. 

For late registrants, provided you registered with Maurice Blackburn by 25 July 2025, you are able to participate in the settlement administration. Shortly after the expiration of the Appeal Period, we will contact those late registrants about next steps. You do not need to do anything further at this stage. Registrations will not be accepted after 25 July 2025.

The Court made the following Orders:

• Hino will pay the sum of AU$87 million (Settlement Sum), inclusive of legal, administration and other costs to settle the Hino Class Action;
• The following sums will be deducted from the Settlement Sum:
  • the plaintiff Reimbursement Payment in the amount of $20,000;
  • the Group Costs Order in the amount of $15,131,000; and
  • Administration Costs up to a maximum amount of $2,785,244.55

The residual Settlement Sum, after these deductions, will be divided amongst Eligible Group Members in accordance with the approved Settlement Distribution Scheme. 

We are unable to provide group members with an estimate of the amount of money they will receive if found eligible to participate in the settlement. This is because any amount of compensation they receive will depend on a range of factors, including the:

• number of group members who registered to participate in the settlement;
• type of interest held in the relevant vehicle and
• date on which the interest in the relevant vehicle was acquired

The Settlement Distribution Scheme establishes a procedure for assessing the eligibility of participating group members and distribution of the settlement sum, including the payment of final distribution amounts to eligible group members.

A copy of the proposed Settlement Distribution Scheme is available to view here.

We currently estimate that the settlement administration will take 12-18 months from the expiration of the appeal period. At this stage, it is too soon to determine when payments will commence.  Once the settlement administration has progressed, we will provide an updated timeline.

The Court approved the following deductions from the settlement sum.

Legal costs:

By Orders dated 4 September 2025, the Court ordered the Group Costs Order in the amount of $15,131,000 (approximately 17.392% of the Settlement Sum).

Plaintiff’s reimbursement payment: 

The Court approved a reimbursement payment of $20,000 to the Plaintiff to compensate him for his time associated with the class action. 

Settlement administration costs: 

The Court appointed Maurice Blackburn as settlement administrator to implement the Settlement Distribution Scheme and approved settlement administration costs up to a maximum of $2,785,244.55.