Robodebt victims to receive $475 million payout

Robodebt victims to receive historic settlement, Engie customers get price correction, and is PayPal's fast online checkout a win for shoppers? Here are five things you may have missed this week.

Historic Robodebt class action settlement reached

Hundreds of thousands of Australians caught up in the Robodebt scandal are set to receive a further $475 million in compensation after the federal government reached a record-breaking settlement.

The deal, still subject to Federal Court approval, resolves an appeal of the 2020 class action that saw $720 million in unlawful debts repaid and wiped.

Unlike the earlier settlement, this payout is specifically for the distress and harm caused by the illegal scheme, which automatically calculated alleged welfare overpayments using flawed income averaging.

If approved, it will be the largest class action settlement in Australian history.

The court will also decide on up to $13.5 million for legal costs and $60 million for administering the scheme.

Introduced under the former Liberal government, Robodebt was condemned as traumatising vulnerable Australians with over 2000 deaths linked to the botched system.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland says the settlement reflects the government's commitment to addressing the damage caused.

"The Royal Commission described Robodebt as a 'crude and cruel mechanism, neither fair nor legal' ... Settling this claim is the just and fair thing to do," she says.

Eligible group members do not need to take any immediate action beyond ensuring their contact details are up to date with Services Australia.

Further information will be provided once the Federal Court confirms the next steps.

Energy customers overcharged

Up to 3000 South Australian ENGIE customers will receive a price "correction" after questions were put to the provider by ABC News.

In a letter to customers, the global energy giant ENGIE announced the peak power price would increase to $1.10 per kilowatt hour, more than double the rate available in most energy contracts in South Australia.

This led to one customer being slapped with a $1200 energy bill after just one month.

A spokesperson said up to 3000 ENGIE customers in South Australia would receive a price reduction backdated to August 1.

SA Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said ENGIE's admission that it had overcharged thousands of customers should be a "wake-up call" for people.

"I am worried that other retailers are doing it," Koutsantonis told ABC Radio Adelaide.

"Check your bills, call your retailer and say 'I want the cheapest price available'."

In the most recent publicly available Energy Ombudsman's annual report 2023-24, ENGIE was the second most complained about company in South Australia.

According to a Financial Counselling Australia report, Rank the Energy Retailer 2025, ENGIE ranked the worst of 18 energy providers, with a score of minus 30.

Is PayPal's faster checkout a win for shoppers?

PayPal is rolling out Fastlane in Australia, an accelerated checkout that recognises shoppers by email, confirms with a one-time code, and auto-fills payment and shipping details.

No PayPal account is needed as the user's Fastlane profile pre-fills card and address information to process the payment without having to remember passwords.

Already available in the US and the UK, the solution aims to cut the checkout friction that sees 41% of Australian shoppers abandon carts.

Australia's shift from cash to digital payments has been gathering pace for years, driven by speed and security.

Just 13% of retail transactions are now paid in cash, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia, and some businesses have gone completely cashless.

But not everyone sees a frictionless payment system as a win.

Critics argue that when buying becomes too easy, people are more likely to overspend.

Super Pharmacy Plus, an Australian retailer that trialled the Fastlane checkout system, saw sales conversions jump 24%.

PayPal says US trials showed a 51% average conversion lift compared to standard guest checkout.

In other words, the gap between wanting something and paying for it is shrinking - and that means more spending.

Fastlane is currently in local trials and is expected to roll out more broadly from October 2025.

ACCC takes on alleged vegetable price fixing cartel

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accused four vegetable producers that supply to ALDI of engaging in a price fixing cartel.

The growers allegedly priced fixed broccoli, cauliflower, iceberg lettuce, cucumber, Brussels sprouts and zucchini, to ALDI stores in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland between 2018 and 2024.

The ACCC accuse:

• Perfection Fresh Australia
• Hydro Produce (Australia)
• Veli Velisha Fresh Produce and Velisha National Farms, its director and chief executive Catherine Velisha, and its senior sales manager Kaushik Vora
• M. Fragapane & Sons, and its general sales manager Roberto Nave.

In Australia, a cartel exists when businesses agree to act together instead of competing with each other.

"Businesses acting together instead of competing can drive up prices and harm consumers, while disadvantaging other businesses that are seeking to compete fairly," Says ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.

"Protecting competition in our fresh food supply chains is extremely important to drive price competition for the benefit of Australian consumers."

The ACCC alleges "on 28 occasions, two or more of the suppliers made, or attempted to make, arrangements or understandings that had the purpose, effect or likely effect of fixing, controlling or maintaining the price of the produce."

The ACCC also alleges that on 48 occasions, one or more of the suppliers then submitted prices to ALDI in accordance with these arrangements or understandings.

For businesses, the maximum penalty for each breach is $50 million. For individuals, it's $2.5 million.

New ETF targets retirees seeking steady income

Fund manager Investors Mutual Limited (IML) has admitted a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the ASX designed for retirees and income-focused investors.

The actively managed Investors Mutual Equity Income Fund Complex ETF (ASX: EQIN) builds on IML's long-running Equity Income Fund, which has delivered a 2% dividend above the ASX 300 since 2011 (after fees and before franking).

Co-portfolio managers Michael O'Neill and Tuan Luu say the fund is designed to provide consistent income with lower volatility in a market where retirees are struggling to find stable returns.

With term deposits offering less as the RBA cuts rates, ASX yields dragged down by banks and resources, and concerns around private credit, options are limited.

O'Neil and Luu say EQIN takes a diversified, "bottom-up" approach, deliberately reducing exposure to financials and resources, which make up more than half the ASX-300.

Instead, it targets resilient industrial, healthcare and consumer staples companies with sustainable dividends and growth potential, while avoiding "dividend traps" and overleveraged businesses.

Top holdings include BHP Group, CSL, Brambles, CBA, NAB and The Lottery Corporation.

Management fees are 0.90% per annum, plus standard brokerage costs.

The move continues the strong ETF market growth, with Aussie investors having nearly 400 ETFs to choose from.

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