[Peetwo]

Supreme Court agrees on $33 million BHI TAFE (Soar) payout - 

Via the Age:

Box Hill Institute to pay $33 million to former aviation students in landmark case

Nicole Precel
December 1, 2022 — 4.02pm

Box Hill Institute has agreed to pay $33 million to more than 500 former aviation students in a landmark Supreme Court settlement.

Gordon Legal launched a class action in March 2020 on behalf of about 550 students who were unhappy with the aviation diploma they studied at the institute between December 2015 and March 2020.

Plus via the Yaffa:

Supreme Court approves Soar Payout

2 December 2022



The Supreme Court of Victoria has approved a $33 million settlement in a class action brought by Diploma of Aviation students of Box Hill Institute (BHI).

The class action, brought by Gordon Legal on behalf of former students of BHI and training provider Soar Aviation, was settled out of court in September, and approved by Justice Dixon of the Supreme Court last month.

"This settlement is a huge relief for me and all the other group members in this class action,” said Representative Plaintiff, Nerita Somers.

“To have achieved such a positive outcome is a credit to the hard work of everyone involved. I’m glad this matter is now behind us all."

According to court documents, the plaintiffs contended that Box Hill TAFE:

• did not have BAK material that enabled the students to reach CASA standards
  
• set exam standards were too low
  
• had no system of monitoring student progress
  
• tried to persuade or require students to join RAAus and get a pilot certificate and then convert it to an RPL, bypassing CASA's minimum standards for RPL
  
• did not have a sufficient number of flying instructors available, resulting in a lack of training continuity, regularly canceled lessons and poor retention of training.
  

The court action concluded that it was never possible under these circumstances for students to gain a CPL within the time frame promised.

The settlement reached contains no admission of liability on behalf of BHI.

"This settlement is an excellent result for the class action group members who turned to Gordon Legal for help to pursue their claims," said Gordon Legal partner Andrew Grech.

"We are pleased to have achieved this settlement for our clients and look forward to providing group members who have decided to participate in the Settlement Scheme with closure after what has been a stressful time for them."

Former students of the BHI/Soar diploma who need more information about the settlement scheme can contact Gordon Legal on 03 9603 3000 or e-mail bhisoar@gordonlegal.com.au.

MTF...P2