Black Summer bushfire victims will receive modest compensation over a devastating blaze in rural NSW, which started when a farm hand used a welder in dangerous fire conditions.
The victims launched a class action in the NSW Supreme Court over the fire that started on a farm at Palmers Oaky, in central west NSW, in December 2019.
The blaze raged for 58 days, burning through more than 17,000 hectares and destroying 10 houses and 14 farm buildings.
An initial assessment valued the class action members' claims at more than $18 million.
The case alleged farm owners, Sydney brothers Charbel, Joseph and Moussa Tannous, were liable because their workers did not take safety precautions during a "very high" fire danger rating day.
A farm hand welded fence posts together on the drought-ravaged property on the hot and dry morning of December 4, sparking a quick-moving grass fire, the court heard.
The case against the Tannous brothers and their plumbing company was settled in October, when parties agreed to a much smaller payout of $4.5 million.
After more than $2 million in legal and administration costs, up to 70 people involved in the action will split the rest of the compensation.
Justice Nicholas Chen on Friday approved the terms of the settlement, acknowledging the objections of five victims who felt the compensation was not enough.
"Each of them ... gave heartfelt and moving accounts of the devastation that the fire has had upon them, and their lives, both financially and emotionally," Justice Chen said.
The plaintiffs were "on the horns of a dilemma", the judge said, because the court had to decide whether the settlement was a better result than a bankruptcy or liquidation case.
The Tannous brothers did not have insurance coverage for any pay out and were unlikely to have assets for debts of more than $3 million, the court heard.
During an inquest into the Black Summer bushfires, the farm hand who accidentally started the fire said he wanted to impress his boss on his first day on the job.
Mark Turner said he and his boss, fencing contractor Jamie Edwards, were looking out for embers, but did not take other safety precautions.
"I didn't think about those things, I was wanting to do the best job and show the best that I could do," Mr Turner told the inquest in June 2022.
The findings from the two-year inquest, which investigated Black Summer bushfires across the state, have yet to be handed down.
