The St George Finance class action settlement is a $130 million payout, jointly funded by Westpac and St George Finance, approved by the Supreme Court of Victoria on 27 August 2025 to resolve claims that car loan borrowers were charged inflated interest under undisclosed “flex commission” arrangements. Roughly 300,000 people registered as group members. Registration closed on 23 July 2025, and Maurice Blackburn expects payments to begin flowing in the second half of 2026.1Fox v Westpac Banking Corporation [2025] VSC 643
Justice Harris found the settlement “fair and reasonable” and within the “range of reasonable outcomes.” Westpac and St George settled without admitting liability. Five group members objected, mostly over how older claims were treated; the court overruled them.
Who the Settlement Covers
The class covers anyone who took out a consumer car loan arranged through a car dealer under the credit licence of Westpac, St George Finance, Bank of Melbourne, or BankSA between 1 March 2013 and 31 October 2018, where a flex commission was paid to the dealer.
To share in the settlement, class members had to register with Maurice Blackburn by 23 July 2025. That deadline has passed. No new registrations are being accepted, and people who did not register before the cut-off cannot claim from this fund.
If your car loan was with a different lender, this settlement doesn’t apply to you, but two related settlements may — see the section on ANZ/Esanda and Macquarie Leasing below.
What Flex Commissions Were
Under flex commission arrangements, the lender set a “base rate” for a car loan and left the dealer free to write the contract at a higher rate. The gap between the base rate and the contract rate generated a commission for the dealer. The bigger the gap, the larger the payout. A dealer who wrote the loan at or below the base rate earned little or nothing.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission found that around 15 percent of customers ended up paying an interest rate seven percentage points or more above the base rate. On a $25,000 loan over five years, ASIC estimated the difference between a 16 percent flex-inflated rate and a 10 percent risk-based rate cost the borrower more than $6,000 in extra interest. ASIC banned the practice effective 1 November 2018. Borrowers did not automatically get money back, which is why the class action was brought.
The Banking Royal Commission’s final report criticized the arrangement, noting borrowers were typically unaware of it and that neither lenders nor dealers disclosed it voluntarily.
How Much Individual Borrowers Will Receive
The $130 million is a gross figure that covers everything. The court approved the following deductions before any money reaches claimants:
- Legal costs of $31,850,000 (24.5 percent of the settlement), payable to Maurice Blackburn for work performed between July 2020 and August 2025.
- Administration costs of $3,005,200 for running the distribution process.
- $40,000 each to the lead plaintiffs, Alannah Fox and Bridget Nastasi.
A supplementary affidavit filed shortly before the approval hearing estimated that around 76.66 percent of the settlement sum will be available for distribution to eligible class members. Interest earned on the fund while it sits in a court-approved account goes first to administration costs, with any surplus added to the pool.
Individual amounts are calculated using a court-approved “loss assessment formula” that estimates the extra interest each borrower paid because of the flex commission, compared with what they would have paid at the base rate. Two tiers apply:
- Loans entered into on or after 15 July 2014: compensation reflects the full assessed difference.
- Loans entered into before 15 July 2014: compensation is set at roughly 10 percent of the assessed loss. This reflects the weaker legal position of older claims, which fell outside statutory limitation periods and relied on a harder-to-prove “mistake at law” argument.
The older-loan discount was the main basis for the five objections the court received. Justice Harris overruled them, accepting that the two-tier treatment reflected the differing legal strength of the claims.
When Payments Will Arrive and What Claimants Need to Do
The 63-day appeal window closed on 29 October 2025 and formal administration began. As of mid-2026, Maurice Blackburn is in the “confirmation of eligibility” phase, contacting approximately 12,000 registered group members for additional information. The firm estimates this phase will run two to three months, after which every claimant will be told whether they are eligible.
Eligible members will then receive a Notice of Estimated Distribution setting out their individual compensation figure. Only at that point will Maurice Blackburn ask for bank account details. The firm has warned claimants not to send banking information by email in advance of that formal request; unsolicited requests should be treated as suspicious.
Payments are expected to begin in the second half of 2026 and will be staggered because of the number of claimants. Group members who fail to respond to information requests within the specified timeframes risk being classified as “non-responsive” and losing their entitlement altogether. If Maurice Blackburn contacts you, respond promptly and keep your contact details current.
The Related ANZ and Macquarie Flex Commission Settlements
The Westpac and St George case was the largest of three flex commission class actions run by Maurice Blackburn that all settled in 2025. If your car loan was with a different lender during a similar period, one of these may cover you:
- ANZ/Esanda — $85 million. O’Brien v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (S ECI 2020 03365) covered Esanda-branded car loans arranged between 1 January 2011 and 31 March 2016. Justice Harris approved the settlement on 3 July 2025. Around 120,000 claimants registered.
- Macquarie Leasing — $56.5 million. Nathan & Anor v Macquarie Leasing Pty Ltd covered loans between 1 March 2013 and 31 October 2018. Justice Harris approved the settlement on 21 August 2025.
Total recoveries across the three flex commission cases reached $271.5 million. All three are in the administration phase, all use the same basic methodology of compensating borrowers for extra interest paid with reduced payouts for older loans, and payments in each are expected to commence in the second half of 2026. Each was reached on a no-admission-of-liability basis. Registration deadlines for these settlements have also passed.