The settlement comes after more than 3,000 investors suffered substantial financial losses after investing in the now-collapsed company between 2010 and 2014.

A statement from Slaters noted approximately 60 per cent of these are covered by firm’s class action, the settlement of which is subject to approval of the Court.

Slater and Gordon head of class actions Ben Hardwick described the matter as “long running, complex and difficult” with investigations starting in 2012 and proceedings commencing in the Federal Court in 2014. The action was transferred to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 2015, with a trial due to commence yesterday. 

“We began investigating the case in 2012 and after seeking litigation funding support, elected to take it on ‘No Win-No Fee’ with Slater and Gordon funding the disbursements and indemnifying the lead plaintiff,” Mr Hardwick said.

Slater and Gordon’s argument against AET alleged that the company had not discharged its obligations to exercise reasonable diligence in accordance with its statutory obligations under section 283DA of the Corporations Act.

In particular, it was alleged that AET ought to have ascertained whether Provident would have sufficient property available to repay debenture holders when their investment came due, a statement from the firm explained.

“The collapse of Provident caused substantial losses to many mum-and-dad investors who invested in debentures issued by Provident, including the plaintiff and the group members whom he represents,” Mr Hardwick said.

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“Our clients alleged that had AET acted earlier, such losses could have been avoided altogether for some investors and minimised for others.

“[Yesterday’s] announcement is a reminder of the value class actions play in holding corporate Australia to account and in providing thousands of Australians with access to justice each year.”