Class Action to be brought against the University of Sydney by Jewish Students and Staff

The USyd Class Action will seek orders to hold the propagators of antisemitic vilification and other discriminatory and tortious conduct to account.

‘Class actions’

A class action (also known as a ‘representative action’) is a type of legal proceeding in which the plaintiff(s) or lead applicant(s) bring a claim on behalf of a wider group of people who have been affected in the same, similar, or related circumstances and which give rise to a common question of law.

‘Lead Applicants’

Lead Applicant(s) are the only individuals who are named in the proceedings from the outset and are selected based upon the representative nature of their claims.

So, for the USyd Class Action, there will be at least one (1) Lead Applicant for Jewish students and one (1) for Jewish Staff, both of whom allege that they have been affected by antisemitism at the University of Sydney.

‘Group Members’

A ‘Group Member’ is an individual who has been affected by the same, similar, or related circumstances as the Lead Applicant.

So, a ‘Group Member’ in the USyd Class Action will be an individual, who is not a Lead Applicant, and who have been affected by antisemitism at the University of Sydney, namely:

1. Jewish Students,
2. Jewish Staff, and/or
3. Any other Employee, Academic or Student who has been affected by antisemitism at the University of Sydney.

Group members are not named or otherwise identified in the proceedings, unless and until there is a reason to do so – for example, when a financial upside is payable to the group (verdict or settlement monies).