Court approves $31.5 million settlement for ACT's junior doctors

The $31.5 million settlement junior doctors reached with the ACT Government over their unpaid overtime has been approved by the courts.

While the government reached the settlement in September this year, it was approved by the Federal Court on Wednesday (18 December).

It will allow about 2200 junior doctors employed in the ACT over the last eight years to receive repayments for their unpaid overtime.

The lead plaintiff, Dr Ying Ying Tham, who attended the Federal Court in person to hear the announcement, was represented by Hayden Stephens & Associates and Gordon Legal.

“[Dr Tham] was obviously very thrilled that his honour had approved the settlement,” Hayden Stephens & Associates’ director Hayden Stephens said.

He said the junior doctors he had spoken to who were going to give evidence during the class action had also spoken “in chorus” to show their appreciation and were thrilled their employer would now recognise their additional hours.

He said the Federal Court had approved the establishment of a settlement scheme that will assess claims and distribute the settlement funds. The process will involve junior doctors filling out a claim form and setting out their unrostered, unpaid hours.

Documentary proof will assist, but doctors can submit these forms using their best memory and recollection. The scheme administrator will then assess them and determine payment.

“I would expect that the process would take somewhere between six to 12 months,” Mr Stephens said.

He said Dr Tham and the other representative litigants in the class action showed great courage in speaking up.

“The medical profession is an extremely hierarchical profession,” he said.

“For a junior doctor such as Ying Ying Tham to stand up and take on her employer in these circumstances was a remarkable thing to do for her colleagues.”

Mr Stephens believed this case was the largest class action involving underpayments in the ACT.

“Not before has a class action of this size for underpayment ever been awarded in the ACT,” he said.

“It’s clearly a very significant achievement, secured off the back of a very courageous junior doctor.”

A Canberra Health Services (CHS) spokesperson said CHS believed all team members should be remunerated appropriately, and it was committed to rectifying findings of unpaid overtime and continuing to recognise and value the work of its junior medical officers.

“Canberra Health Services investigated the matters raised by junior medical officers and worked collaboratively with all parties during this legal proceeding to come to a settlement that it considers is fair and appropriate,” the spokesperson said.

“While we actively work to avoid excess overtime, where overtime is necessary, we have made it easier for our junior doctors to claim and included information on the process for claiming overtime in role orientation and induction activities.”

Earlier this year, Dr Tham said court action was necessary to address junior doctors’ long-held concerns about hospitals’ failure to recognise all their working hours.

“Our purpose in bringing this case was to ensure junior doctors’ additional hours were properly recognised and fairly compensated,” Dr Tham said.

Hayden Stephens & Associates and Gordon Legal filed the class action in November 2022, alleging Canberra Hospital and Calvary Health Care (now North Canberra Hospital) failed to pay doctors in training for their unrostered overtime.

The parties attended mediation earlier this year, and the settlement deed was executed in September.