Huge payout for Victoria bushfires

Lawyers say the $A500 million payout for some survivors of Victoria's devastating Black Saturday bushfires is the biggest class action settlement in Australian legal history.

The case came about after the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission found the Kilmore East-Kinglake bushfire on 7 February 2009 was caused by an ageing power line.

The class action was taken against power distributor SP AusNet, which owns the line, and asset managers Utility Services Group.

Almost 10,000 plaintiffs will receive their share of the record settlement within 12 months of court approval, the ABC reported on Tuesday.

They include relatives of the 119 people killed in the fire, people injured and those who lost their homes and property. The fires razed 125,000 hectares and destroyed more than 1000 homes.

Lead plaintiff Carol Matthews, who lost her 22-year-old son Sam in the fire, said the deal will help ease people's suffering.

"For a lot of people out there in the community, this settlement is going to give them the ability financially to survive better than they do at the moment."

In a statement, SP AusNet said the settlement was without admission of liability by the company and other parties. It said it believed it was likely to win the lawsuit, but the uncertainty, complexity and scale of the case lead them and other parties to settle.

Under the proposed settlement, the state of Victoria will pay more than $A100 million for inadequate warnings at the time of the fire and insufficient controlled burns. Premier Denis Napthine said the government's insurance would cover the cost.