Class action filed against Department of Defence following Oakey water contamination

An investigation into the contamination of land and water around a Defence site at Oakey has escalated, with a class action lawsuit filed against the department.

On Tuesday, global litigation funder IMF released a statement that said it would fund the lawsuit against the Department of Defence in connection to any land contamination alleged to have occurred from the use of firefighting foam.

More than 4000 residents have been affected by contamination caused by the use of toxic firefighting foams at the Oakey army base, which had leached into the groundwater.

More than 4000 residents have been affected by contamination caused by the use of toxic firefighting foams at the Oakey army base, which had leached into the groundwater.

Oakey residents have been found to have chemical levels 44 times the national average in their blood.

Oakey resident Brad Hudson said it was a shame the situation had led to class action, but he had already endured three years of stress over the unknown effects of exposure to the chemicals PFOS and PFOA found within the toxic foams.

"It's just the not knowings of having to endure a chemical everyday of your life and to hope like it hell it doesn't have any long term health affects on me or my family," Mr Hudson said.

"As a parent, that's pretty hard to endure. I just hope it doesn't upset my children's health down the path."

Mr Hudson said the unknown meant he did not allow his two young daughters to play on the lawn because it had been watered with potentially contaminated water.

"I don't think my children deserve to have to put up with chemicals caused by the Australian government," he said.

"It's still scary, I'd hate for them to say in a couple of years time that there's definitely evidence out there this is going to affect you and we've just sat there in limbo fighting with the government to get a resolution."

The class action has been filed to the Federal Court of Australia in New South Wales and is being conducted by Shine Lawyers in Queensland.

Shine Lawyers special counsel Peter Shannon said he believed Oakey was the worst contamination site in Australia but he added that more than 60 Defence bases around the country had exposed residents to the same toxic chemicals.

"This action and the Williamstown action will pave the way to justice for those communities which have suffered," Mr Shannon said.

"In Oakey hundreds of innocent families have been, and continue to be, exposed. Many have invested everything they have into this town and now all their hard work means nothing.

"They're effectively trapped and can't sell their properties or move their kids out of the contamination zone.

"The community has suffered under this cloud of contamination for years with no end in sight until now.

"Today marks the first step towards justice for the people of Oakey."

To date, 450 Oakey residents are involved in the class action.

Mr Shannon said Shine Lawyers would be seeking damages for compensation.

"That is the financial loss suffered by our clients," he said.

"The amount of that I can't specify at the moment because it's actually expert evidence that determines that, so a valuer gets in the box and does an evaluation.

"I can say that from my experience I would be surprised if it was less than $200 million – something in that effect, but i don't want to pre-empt the valuer's domain."

It was expected the Federal Court would call both parties to set down a plan for how the case would be heard and then the Department of Defence was expected to file its defence within months.

Williamtown Class Action Steering Committee spokesman Linday Clout said the committee welcomed the class action Oakey residents had filed against the department.

Williamtown residents filed class action against the department last year.

"There is no question that this will continue to build as the scientific evidence about the dangers of PFOS and PFOA mounts," he said.

"Rather than drag this on, defence needs to do the right thing and take action to help the families and businesses impacted by its contamination"

A Defence spokesman said the department was aware IMF Bentham had issued a release to the ASX on Tuesday.

"At this time, no formal documentation has been served on the Commonwealth and Defence is not aware of the details of the proceeding," the spokesman said.

"Any claim will be handled in accordance with the Attorney-General's Legal Services Directions 2017.

"It is inappropriate for Defence to make further public comment at this stage."