Notification of 1 July 2025
Notice to Participating Group Members – 1 July 2025
Dear Participating Group Member
Notice pursuant to clause 7.1(e) and (f) of the Settlement Distribution Scheme concerning patients of The Cosmetic Institute
You are receiving this notification because you are a Participating Group Member.
Third party repayments
We are writing to inform you that you, Turner Freeman Lawyers (TFL) in its capacity as Administrator of the Settlement Scheme, or the Defendants, may be liable to make Required Repayments as a result of you receiving compensation (clause 7.1(e), Settlement Scheme).
All Required Repayments will be paid by the Defendants, or from the Fund, regardless of whether that sum would ordinarily be paid directly by the Defendants (clause 7.1(f), Settlement
Scheme).
“Required repayments” are any and all reimbursements and other payments that are required to be paid to third parties arising from the settlement of the Participating Group Member Claims, including:
- (a) any statutory refunds payable to any State or the Commonwealth government or statutory authority as required by law and to pay any refund to a third party as required by law;
- (b) any Advance Payment, of 10% of the Settlement Sum, payable to Medicare; and
- (c) any amounts payable under the Health and Other Services (Compensation) Act 1995 (Cth), Social Security Act 1991 (Cth), Veteran’s Entitlements Act 1986 (Cth), National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth) or any other statute under which the Defendants may be liable to pay a government body arising from or in respect of the Settlement.
“Third parties” include any person, corporation, statutory body or any other entity to which Required Repayments must be made or from which Required Notices must be obtained, including a private health insurer (as defined in the Private Health Insurance Act 1987 (Cth), Medicare Australia, the Department of Social Security or Centrelink, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, and the National Disability Insurance Agency.
What this means for you
Pursuant to statute, law or contract – such as the contract that applies between you and your private health insurer – where a person receives personal injury compensation, they are liable to repay certain third parties – such as Medicare and any private health insurer – for treatment costs or expenses paid or contributed by those third parties in respect of injuries sustained the subject of the Claim for which compensation is received.
We have been corresponding with Medicare and private health insurers to formalise repayment amounts. Repayment amounts, as may apply to each Participant’s claim, will be deducted from each Participant’s Assessed Compensation Amount (if applicable) pursuant to the Settlement Scheme approved by the Court.
We may seek further information from individual Participants about this issue. Please monitor your emails and respond to us promptly if we write to you.
General update
TFL is continuing the process of assessing each Participant’s claim pursuant to the assessment and deductions protocols outlined in the Settlement Scheme.
A further notification is expected to be issued to you by the end of August 2025.
In the meantime, please review the website FAQs if you have any questions about the scheme administration. Any updates will also be placed on the website here:
https://www.turnerfreeman.com.au/class-actions/the-cosmetic-institute-class-action/
Due nature of the Settlement Scheme and the numbers of Participants involved, TFL is unable to respond to each and every email. Please do not email us about your assessment amount or when payment will be made. You will be notified about those issues in due course.
