Aussie Farmers Fighting Fund at risk with class action changes

The government plans to crack down on organisations pursuing class actions, with many believing they are being used for profit rather than justice, but the Aussie Fighting Fund (AFFF) may inadvertently be caught out in process.

For more than three decades, the AFFF has been an instrument of justice, allowing farmers an avenue to challenge decisions they would otherwise have to accept due to the large legal fees involved in appealing them.

AFFF trustee and National Farmers Federation president Fiona Simson doesn't believe the regulation changes were intended to target organisations like AFFF, but it "could well fall under it" and it "would be a shame" if it did.

"While the AFFF doesn't make a habit of funding class actions, it has in the past and it is at the moment, with the live cattle export shutdown case," Ms Simson said.

"But it's not seeking to make money from those cases. Over the years, looking back at cases, we really haven't had many class actions, it's mostly been individuals.

"The whole purpose of the AFFF is to assist farmers fight legal battles where a legal precedent could be made that would benefit the whole ag industry."

Ms Simson pointed to the recent Marland Mushrooms case AFFF won, regarding the interpretation of piecework rates.

"That was a really significant case, because the piecework rate had much wider implications to shearers and the horticulture sector," Ms Simson said.

The planned changes would see any third parties funding litigation - such as the AFFF - regulated as if they're running a financial services business, like a bank or an insurance company.

They would also see plaintiffs in a class action treated the same as investors who pool their money in a collective investment to make a profit - like shareholders investing in a managed fund traded on the stock exchange.

The government is still yet to reveal what the new class action regulations will look like, despite announcing they will come into effect by the end of August.

"We're getting legal advice at the moment and we're talking to the Treasurer's office," Ms Simson said.

"We haven't seen the minute detail. We need to get some advice and clarity about what the regulations look like, then see where we can go from there.

"The government is really open to conversations. We think it's important to talk to the government about their plans and they've been very forthright."

While there are still many questions to be answered, Ms Simson said it's been confirmed the changes won't make a different to the live export case.

A parliamentary inquiry into the regulation changes heard evidence that the number of class actions in Australia had more than tripled in less than a decade.

However, other witnesses also pointed out the total number of class actions amounted to less than 0.7 per cent of the nation's legal cases.

The parliamentary committee is due to deliver a report into the regulation changes by the end of the year.