A class action is a legal proceeding where seven or more people have claims against the same individual or corporation in respect of, or arising out of similar circumstances, such that their claims give rise to a substantial common issue of law or fact. Where these criteria are met (as in the Taylor DPF Class Action), class action proceedings can be commenced by one or more of those people on behalf of some or all of them.

The class action process is intended to save time and expense and avoids the need for the court to determine common issues of fact or law more than once. It enables disputes and claims involving large numbers of people to be resolved via a single case.

The Taylor DPF Class Action was commenced on 31 July 2025 and claims compensation (money) for defects in certain Toyota Hilux, Fortuner and Prado vehicles with a 1GD-FTV or 2GD-FTV diesel engine.

In another class action currently before the Federal Court of Australia (Williams DPF Class Action), it has been held that:

• Toyota Hilux, Prado and Fortuner vehicles with a 1GD-FTV or 2GD-FTV diesel engine acquired between 1 October 2015 and 23 April 2020 (Relevant Vehicles) were not of acceptable quality at the time they were initially supplied because they were fitted with a defective diesel particulate filter (DPF) system;
• the value of the Relevant Vehicles at the time they were initially supplied was reduced because of their defective DPF systems;
• vehicle owners may be entitled to receive money to compensate them for this reduction in value; and
• any right to compensation for reduction in value under s 272(1)(a) of the Australian Consumer Law is tied to ownership of the vehicle.

This means that if you purchased a used Relevant Vehicle by way of private sale between 24 April 2020 and 31 July 2025, from a person who purchased the vehicle new between 1 October 2015 and 23 April 2020, and still own the vehicle, you may be entitled to receive money for the reduction in value of the vehicle resulting from its defective DPF system.

The Taylor DPF Class Action seeks to recover that money on behalf of the people described above.

Overview

The Williams DPF Class Action was commenced in 2019.

Following an initial trial before the trial judge, Justice Lee, in late 2021, judgment was delivered in favour of the applicants and group members in the Williams DPF Class Action in 2022 (Trial Judgment).

Toyota appealed the Trial Judgment and this appeal was heard in late 2022 and a judgment delivered by the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia in 2023 (Full Court Judgment).

Appeals filed by both the applicants in the Williams DPF Class Action (on behalf of group members) and by Toyota from the Full Court Judgment were heard by the High Court of Australia in April 2024.

In November 2024, the High Court delivered an important judgment in favour of the applicants and group members in the Williams DPF Class Action (High Court Judgment).  The High Court:

• upheld the appeal filed by the applicants in the Williams DPF Class Action (on behalf of group members) and dismissed Toyota’s appeal; and
• returned the class action to the trial judge for his Honour to reassess the amount of damages (money) that eligible group members in the Williams DPF Class Action are entitled to be paid in accordance with the High Court Judgment. That reassessment will likely take place in 2026.

Further details about these judgments and the likely next steps in the class action are set out below.

Trial Judgment

On 16 May 2022, the Federal Court of Australia delivered judgment in favour of the applicants and group members in the Williams DPF Class Action (Trial Judgment). The Court found that the Relevant Vehicles were not of acceptable quality because they were fitted with a defective diesel particulate filter (DPF) system and that their value at the time of initial supply was thereby reduced by 17.5% (measured against Average Retail Price). The Court also held that Toyota engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in connection with marketing and selling the Williams Relevant Vehicles.

The trial judge, Justice Lee, held that eligible group members in the Williams DPF Class Action were entitled to be paid money to compensate them for the reduction in value of the Relevant Vehicles and for the excess GST group members paid as a result of acquiring their vehicles at prices which were higher than the true value of those vehicles.

Full Court Judgment

On 10 June 2022, Toyota lodged an appeal from the Trial Judgment. The appeal was heard in the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia from 14 to 16 November 2022.

On 27 March 2023, the Full Court delivered judgment in respect of Toyota’s appeal from the Trial Judgment (Full Court Judgment). The Full Court confirmed the trial judge’s findings that the Relevant Vehicles were not of acceptable quality because of their defective DPF systems and that their value at the time of initial supply was thereby reduced.

However, the Full Court found that the amount of that reduction in value was 10%, rather than 17.5% as found by the trial judge.

High Court Judgment

In April 2024, the High Court of Australia heard appeals filed by both the applicants in the Williams DPF Class Action (on behalf of group members) and Toyota from the Full Court Judgment.

On 6 November 2024, the High Court of Australia delivered an important judgment in favour of the applicants (and group members) in the Williams DPF Class Action.

The High Court upheld the appeal filed by the applicants (on behalf of group members) in the Williams DPF Class Action and dismissed Toyota’s appeal.

The following key findings were not challenged on appeal to the High Court and remain binding on the applicants (and group members) in the Williams DPF Class Action and Toyota:

• the Relevant Vehicles were not of acceptable quality at the time they were initially supplied because they were fitted with a defective DPF system;
• Toyota engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in connection with marketing and selling the Relevant Vehicles; and
• the value of the Relevant Vehicles at the time they were initially supplied was reduced because of their defective DPF systems.

In the appeals, Toyota argued that group members in the Williams DPF Class Action were not entitled to be paid damages (money) to compensate them for the reduction in value of the Relevant Vehicles at the time of their supply because Toyota subsequently developed an effective repair for the defect in May 2020. The High Court rejected Toyota’s argument.

The High Court also observed that the Full Court should not have reduced the trial judge’s assessment of this reduction in value from 17.5% to 10%.

However, the High Court held that in assessing the amount of damages (money) for reduction in value that eligible group members in the Williams DPF Class Action are entitled to be paid, it is necessary to take into account the fact that, by the time of trial, an effective repair for the defect existed.

Given this, the High Court has returned the matter to the trial judge to reassess the amount of damages (money) for reduction in value that eligible group members in the Williams DPF Class Action are entitled to be paid, taking into account the fact that, by the time of trial, an effective repair for the defect existed.

Commencement of Taylor DPF Class Action

Importantly, the High Court in the Williams DPF Class Action also held that any right to compensation for reduction in value under s 272(1)(a) of the Australian Consumer Law is tied to ownership of the vehicle.

This means that if you purchased a used Relevant Vehicle by way of private sale between 24 April 2020 and 31 July 2025, from a person who purchased the vehicle new between 1 October 2015 and 23 April 2020, and still own the vehicle, you may be entitled to receive money for the reduction in value of the vehicle resulting from its defective DPF system.

On 31 July 2025, the Taylor DPF Class Action was commenced.  The Taylor DPF Class Action seeks to recover compensation (money) on behalf of the people who purchased used Relevant Vehicles in these circumstances.

Next Steps

The primary steps which remain to be taken in this Williams DPF Class Action and the Taylor DPF Class Action are to:

• calculate the amount of damages (money) for reduction in value which eligible group members are entitled to be paid in accordance with the High Court’s judgment;
• determine the consequences of a group member having Toyota’s DPF repair applied to their Relevant Vehicle (which may impact upon their entitlement to be paid damages (money) for reduction in value under section 272(1)(a) of the Australian Consumer Law); and
• establish and implement a process by which:
  • the eligibility of each group member to be paid damages (money) for: (1) reduction in value; (2) loss or damages suffered because of Toyota’s misleading or deceptive conduct; and/or (3) reasonably foreseeable consequential losses, can be determined;
  • the amount of money eligible group members are entitled to be paid can be calculated; and
  • that money can be paid to eligible group members.

The class action was listed for a case management hearing on 5 August 2025. An update in respect of the orders made at that case management hearing and the next steps in the proceeding can be accessed via the ‘Updates’ page of the Williams DPF Class Action website.

The class action has been listed for further case management on 19 December 2025. It is anticipated that at that hearing, orders will be made providing for steps to be taken to prepare the class action for a hearing at which the matters outlined above can be determined.

Registration remains open 

In the meantime, group members in the Taylor DPF Class Action can register their interest to receive any compensation to which they may become entitled in the Taylor DPF Class Action. If you think you are a group member in the Taylor DPF Class Action and have not already done so, you can register your interest here.  Group members who have already submitted their registration forms do not need to do anything else at this stage.

The Taylor DPF Class Action relates to any model of Toyota motor vehicle in the Hilux, Prado and Fortuner ranges fitted with a 1GD-FTV or 2GD-FTV diesel engine which was acquired used, by way of private sale, between 24 April 2020 and 31 July 2020, from a person who acquired the vehicle new between 1 October 2015 and 23 April 2020 in Australia (Relevant Vehicles).

An inclusive but non-exhaustive list of Relevant Vehicles can be found here.

If you can’t find your vehicle on this list or if you are unsure whether your vehicle is one of the Relevant Vehicles in the class action, you can register your interest to receive any money to which you may become entitled in the Taylor DPF Class Action here.

By providing the vehicle identification number (or VIN) for your vehicle we will be able to confirm whether your vehicle is one of the Relevant Vehicles.

Taylor Group Members are people who meet certain criteria. You are likely to be a group member in the Taylor DPF Class Action if you:

• acquired a used Toyota Hilux, Fortuner or Prado with a 1GD-FTV or 2GD-FTV diesel engine:
  • between 24 April 2020 and 31 July 2025;
  • by way of private sale (i.e. not from a used car dealership); and
  • from someone who acquired the vehicle new between 1 October 2015 and 23 April 2020 (meaning you are the second owner of the vehicle);
• still own the vehicle;
• did not acquire the vehicle in an auction; and
• did not acquire the vehicle for the purpose of re-supply.

(Taylor Group Member)

If you meet the group member criteria above, then you are a Taylor Group Member automatically and do not need to take any further steps to become one. Taylor Group Members will be bound by the outcome of the Taylor DPF Class Action unless they take steps to ‘opt-out’.

If you think you are a Taylor Group Member and have not already done so, you can register your interest here.

You do not need to register or sign up to be a group member in the Taylor DPF Class Action.

Anyone who satisfies the relevant criteria and who has not already opted out of the class action is automatically a Taylor Group Member.

However, to receive any money to which you may become entitled in the Taylor DPF Class Action, you need to register your interest in doing so here.  

The amount of compensation (money) which eligible Taylor Group Members are entitled to be paid in the Taylor DPF Class Action has not yet been determined.  This question will be determined by the trial judge, Justice Lee, at a hearing to be held in 2026.

For context:

• the trial judge held in the Williams DPF Class Action that the value of the Relevant Vehicles at the time of their initial supply was reduced by 17.5% (measured against Average Retail Price) as a result of the vehicles’ defective DPF systems. For the lead applicant in the Williams DPF Class Action, this amounted to reduction in value damages of $7,474.59 (plus additional consequential damages of $5,717.06);
• in the High Court Judgment (see FAQ 3), the High Court held that:
  • the Full Court should nothave reduced the trial judge’s assessment of this reduction in value from 17.5% to 10%, but returned the matter to the trial judge for his Honour to reassess the amount of damages for reduction in value that eligible group members are entitled to be paid, taking into account the fact that, by the time of trial, an effective repair for the defect existed;
  • any entitlement to compensation for reduction in value under s 272(1)(a) of the Australian Consumer Law is tied to ownership of the vehicle.

This means that if you purchased a used Relevant Vehicle, by way of private sale, between 24 April 2020 and 31 July 2025, from a person who purchased the vehicle new between 1 October 2015 and 23 April 2020, and still own the vehicle, you may be entitled to receive money for the reduction in value of the vehicle resulting from its defective DPF system.

In the meantime, Taylor Group Members can continue to register their interest to receive any compensation to which they may become entitled in the Taylor DPF Class Action. If you think you are a Taylor Group Member and have not already done so, you can register your interest here.