The Australian Industry Group, also known as Ai Group, is calling on the Australian government to regulate litigation funders and impose limits on returns earned by plaintiff law firms and funders, as class actions are costing investment and jobs and pushing up insurance costs, it claims.

The group, an employers’ organisation, says A$10 billion ($6.9 billion) in class actions have been filed in the past fiscal year, and they present “a clear and present danger to Australia’s fragile economy”.