The impact of statutes of limitations on Australian class actions - a tale of legislative failure, conflicting judicial views and uncertainty

Australia’s six legislative class action regimes contain provisions that are designed to provide clarity in relation to the important and complex issue of the impact of statutes of limitations on class action litigation. The principal purpose of this article is to canvass, in some detail, the significant uncertainty which these provisions have themselves generated and to suggest measures that might rectify this problem and ensure that these provisions balance the interests of group members with the interests of defendants.