A record $500 million payout has been approved for survivors of the most fatal of Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires.

About 5000 residents from the East Kilmore and Kinglake area who took part in the class action will share in $494.7 million.

The survivors sued electricity provider SP AusNet, Utility Services Corporation Limited and the Department of Sustainability and Environment after 119 lives were lost in the fires on February 7, 2009.

The class action was settled in July without admission of liability and approved by Victorian Supreme Court Justice Robert Osborn today.
Justice Osborn said the legal battle could have resulted in a nil outcome for group members.

The settlement was reached after a trial that was fiercely contested for 16 months, and he said the settlement was a legally and commercially significant sum.

Justice Osborn said in addition to the lives lost in the blaze, more than 1000 people were injured, and 1172 homes and properties were destroyed.

There were only two relevant objections received from more than 5000 group members, he said.

He ordered that the legal costs of $60 million be paid by group members.

Lead plaintiff Carol Matthews, who lost her 22-year-old son Sam in the fires, will address the media later today.