Sydney Trains
On 18 July 2023, Adero Law filed a proceeding in the Federal Court of Australia against Sydney Trains, alleging that it underpaid Area Controllers and Signallers. Group members assert that they were regularly required to work in excess of their rostered hours without pay, inadequate overtime payments and that they were unable to take crib breaks (from February 2023).
As of the Registration Deadline at 11:59pm on 27 February 2026, we received a large volume of registrations.
The additional registrations have caused the obligation to seek settlement approval for the settlement to lapse.
As a result, the parties are required to negotiate in good faith in relation to a revised settlement and the parties must approach the Court with an updated position within a reasonable time of the settlement registration deadline.
The Court has been notified that the parties will be seeking to renegotiate the settlement and made orders on 17 March 2026 to adjust the timeline.
Accordingly, the Settlement Approval Hearing that was originally listed for 19 March 2026 has been relisted for 10:15am on 29 June 2026 in order to allow the parties sufficient time to seek to renegotiate the settlement.
The parties will seek to renegotiate the settlement.
Subject to the outcome of the renegotiation, there are three possibilities when the parties approach the Court:
• a revised settlement has been agreed in principle, for which the parties will seek Court approval. Should this occur, the Applicant is required to file an application with the Court on 4 June 2026 seeking Court approval of the revised settlement;
• the parties require additional time to conduct the negotiation and are close to reaching a revised settlement; or
• the parties have been unable to agree a revised settlement and the proceedings shall continue to a trial.
In March 2026, we were notified by Sydney Trains that there were 57 individuals who ought to have received the Notice of Settlement on 27 January 2026 but did not.
This issue is only confined to some individuals who worked as Trainee Signallers. The parties agreed for there to be a further notice distribution and extended registration process for the 57 individuals (Additional Trainee Signallers) in order to rectify the issue.
The Court made orders for a further notice distribution and extended registration process for the Additional Trainee Signallers. The registration deadline for the Additional Trainee Signallers is at 11:59pm on 13 April 2026.
The Court has approved a notice to be distributed to Group Members notifying them of their rights.
If you are a Group Member, a copy should be emailed or posted to you by 27 January 2026 and can be found in the Case Materials section on this page.
The terms of the Settlement will include the payment by Sydney Trains of a fixed lump sum figure of between $6,074,523.86 to $7,582,927.79 in full and final settlement of the claims of the Applicant and all Group Members inclusive of all costs, including legal and administration costs, expenses, disbursements, interest, and penalties.
The Settlement Sum is to be paid by Sydney Trains without any admission of liability or wrongdoing and on a commercial basis to resolve the proceedings without the parties incurring further legal fees, noting the Class Action has been on foot since July 2023.
The Settlement Sum is calculated as follows:
• a base amount of $6,074,523.86; and
• an additional contribution for each additional Group Member who registers to participate in the proposed settlement by 11:59pm on 27 February 2026 (Further Registered Group Members) up to a maximum total further amount of $1,508,403.93.
On 9 December 2024 and 9 April 2025, we attended mediations with Sydney Trains to seek to settle the claim.
The Parties did not come to a settlement, however, agreed that there remained utility in continuing discussions to seek to reach a settlement to avoid the further time and cost of litigation.
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You may be a CURRENT GROUP MEMBER in the Sydney Trains class action if you were:
- employed by Sydney Trains at any time between 1 May 2018 to 18 July 2023;
- covered by the Sydney Trains Enterprise Agreement 2018 and/or the
Sydney Trains and NSW TrainsLink Enterprise Agreement 2022; - employed as an ‘Area Controller’ or ‘Signaller’.
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Most Current Group Members would have received a notice from the Court by letter or email in August 2024.
If you did not receive a notice from the Court but believe you are a group member, please feel free to contact us. -
You may be a NEW GROUP MEMBER in the Sydney Trains class action if you were:
- employed by Sydney Trains at any time between 19 July 2023 to 26 November 2025;
- covered by the Sydney Trains Enterprise Agreement 2018 and/or the
Sydney Trains and NSW TrainsLink Enterprise Agreement 2022; - employed as an ‘Area Controller’ or ‘Signaller’.
On 18 July 2023, Adero Law filed a proceeding in the Federal Court of Australia against Sydney Trains on behalf of Ritchie White and Group Members. The class action alleges Sydney Trains failed to pay the relevant entitlements under the Fair Work Act 2009 and the 2018 & 2022 Sydney Trains Enterprise Agreements for individuals working in ‘Area Controller’ or ‘Signaller’ positions.
Group members assert that:
- they were regularly required to work in excess of the specified time in their rosters (including unpaid pre-shift and post-shift work to perform handovers),
- they were generally not able to take crib breaks from 17 February 2023 (when the 2022 Enterprise Agreement required crib breaks for operational staff);
- they were not adequately paid the overtime entitlements;
- they were not adequately paid the Saturday and Sunday penalties;
- they were not adequately paid the Public Holiday penalties; and
- Sydney Trains did not keep adequate records of overtime worked and the allowances and entitlements owed to group members.
In order to be eligible to receive any compensation from the proposed settlement, you are required to register to participate. Otherwise, subject to any further Court order you may be bound by the settlement but will not be entitled to receive any compensation from the class action. The proposed settlement still needs to be approved by the Court. If the proposed settlement is approved by the Court, the class action will be dismissed, and registered Group Members may receive compensation.
If you are unsure if you have already registered, you should contact Adero Law on 02 6189 1022 or at [email protected]
The registration for participation in the mediation closed at 11:59pm (AEDT) on 7 October 2024. However, you can still register your interest to participate in this class action. We will be in contact with you if we require any further information from you.
The class action is run on a no win, no fee basis. This means that if a class action is successful (i.e. if a settlement has been reached or there is an outcome is reached at a trial resulting in money being owed to group members), the legal fees and costs of running the class action are deducted from the settlement amount or from the amount arising from any judgment, subject to the Court’s approval. In the event that the class action is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay anything.
Although circumstances can vary, the general structure of a class action proceeding run by Adero Law is as follows:
- A wrongdoing occurs that affects a group of people (claimants) in a similar way.
- Adero’s Claim Origination team investigate the wrongdoing by conducting due diligence investigations and liaising with a lead claimant.
- The claim is filed in Court.
- Pleadings and other Court documents are finalised and filed with the Court.
- Claimants have a chance to opt-out of the class action.
- Evidence is compiled and the claim is prepared for trial.
- If appropriate, mediation or settlement discussions take place between the parties.
- If a settlement agreement is not reached, the claim proceeds to trial.
- Once a settlement agreement has been reached, claimants are notified, and a timetable is put in place for any objections or submissions to be made ahead of a hearing.
- A settlement hearing occurs.
- If the settlement is approved, a distribution scheme will be implemented under the guidance of the Court.
Yes. You can join the class action even if you are a current employee of Syndey Trains, as long as you can satisfy all of the following requirements:
- You have been employed by Sydney Trains at any time between 1 May 2018 to 18 July 2023;
- You were covered by the Sydney Trains Enterprise Agreement 2018 and/or the Sydney Trains and NSW TrainsLink Enterprise Agreement 2022; and
- You were employed as an ‘Area Controller’ or ‘Signaller’ during the period of 1 May 2018 to 18 July 2023.
If you answered yes to the above, we encourage you to register for the Sydney Trains Class Action.
Yes. You can join the class action even if you are a former employee of Syndey Trains, as long as you can satisfy all of the following requirements:
- You have been employed by Sydney Trains at any time between 1 May 2018 to 18 July 2023;
- You were covered by the Sydney Trains Enterprise Agreement 2018 and/or the Sydney Trains and NSW TrainsLink Enterprise Agreement 2022; and
- You were employed as an ‘Area Controller’ or ‘Signaller’ (this does not include LICS Operators).
If you answered yes to the above, we encourage you to register for the Sydney Trains Class Action.
No. s 340 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) prevents employers from treating you differently for exercising your workplace rights. It is unlawful to punish an employee in any way for joining a class action. If you believe this has happened to you, contact us and we will promptly investigate.
Adero will not provide your details to Sydney Trains or any third party without your consent. Adero adheres to Australian privacy principles and will store its data in its systems and will not use that material for any third-party purpose. That information is also subject to legal professional rules that Adero adheres to under the ACT rules, and as such you have rights as a consumer of a legal service.