Editing Class action (section)

=== Australia and New Zealand ===
Class actions became part of the Australian legal landscape only when the [[Federal Parliament]] amended the Federal Court of Australia Act in 1992 to introduce "representative proceedings",<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=Robert |title=The Class Actions Law Review |last2=Karageorge |first2=Felicity |last3=Solomonidis |first3=Rena |last4=Briggs |first4=Nicholas |last5=Gaertner |first5=Sara |date=April 2023 |publisher=Law Business Research |isbn=978-1-80449-160-7 |edition=7th |location=United Kingdom |pages=8}}</ref> the equivalent of the American "class actions".<ref>{{cite web |title=Class Actions in Australia – An Overnew |url=https://www.claytonutz.com/docs/Class%20Actions_Aug04.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330061719/http://www.claytonutz.com/docs/Class%20Actions_Aug04.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-30 |url-status=live  |access-date=2 October 2015 |publisher=Clayton Utz |first1=Stuart |last1=Clark |first2=Colin |last2=Loveday |date=2004}}</ref>

Likewise, class actions appeared slowly in the New Zealand legal system. However, a group can bring litigation through the action of a representative under the High Court Rules which provide that one or a multitude of persons may sue on behalf of, or for the benefit of, all persons "with the same interest in the subject matter of a proceeding". The presence and expansion of litigation funders have been playing a significant role in the emergence of class actions in New Zealand. For example, the "Fair Play on Fees" proceedings in relation to penalty fees charged by banks were funded by Litigation Lending Services (LLS), a company specializing in the funding and management of litigation in Australia and New Zealand. It was the biggest class-action suit in New Zealand history.<ref name="slater">{{cite web |title=Slater and Gordon announces launch of New Zealand class action against ANZ |url=https://www.slatergordon.com.au/media-centre/media-releases/slater-and-gordon-announces-launch-new-zealand-class-action-against-anz  |access-date=2 October 2015 |publisher=Slater and Gordon  |date=18 June 2013}}</ref><ref name="stuff">{{cite news |title=Thousands sign up for bank class action |first=Richard  |last= Meadows |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8408827/NZ-banks-to-face-fee-class-action |publisher=Fairfax Digital |newspaper=[[Stuff.co.nz]] |access-date=12 March 2013 |date=11 March 2013}}</ref>