WA Govt to apologise for historical theft of Aboriginal workers’ wages after landmark settlement

The WA Government has settled a class action for Stolen Wages on behalf of thousands of Aboriginal Australians who worked in Western Australia and were paid little or no wages, while they were subject to legislation in effect from 1936 to 1972. As part of the historic class action settlement, Western Australia will pay up to $180.4 million to eligible Aboriginal workers or their surviving spouses and children. The WA will also issue a public acknowledgement and apology in its Parliament to the surviving and deceased Aboriginal workers on 28 November 2023.

“At the end of the day, no amount of money or compensation is going to make up for what happened to the First Nations people who were impacted. But we wanted to get some form of justice including an apology from the WA government.” - Sarah Thomson of Shine Lawyers.