“The emissions scandal was initially publicly revealed on 3 September 2015 when, according to a statement made on 8 October 2015 by Michael Horn, the then President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America Inc (VW America) to a US Congressional Committee, representatives of VWAG disclosed at a meeting with representatives of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that emissions software in certain four-cylinder diesel engines manufactured by VWAG and its affiliates in the years 2009–2015 contained a defeat device in the form of hidden software which could recognise whether a vehicle was being operated in a test laboratory or on the road. The deployment of this software resulted in the motor vehicles fitted with the affected diesel engines emitting significantly higher levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) when driven on the road than when tested in the laboratory.”
“In 2015 five class actions were commenced in relation to the diesel emissions issue concerning approximately 100,000 Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda diesel vehicles in Australia. Two class actions were commenced by Bannister Law (the Bannister class actions) and three class actions were commenced by Maurice Blackburn (the MB class actions).”
“Group Members who wish to make a claim for a settlement payment must register their claim by 10 March 2020. Except for fleet operators (discussed below), all claims must be registered using the online registration portal: www.vwsettlement.com.au”