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Indigenous workers, who had their wages stolen while working in the Northern Territory in the last century, will receive a compensation of AU$202 million, the Albanese government has said.

The payout is part of a class action lawsuit, aimed at reversing historical wrongs the community was subjected to. The move follows similar cases in Western Australia and Queensland, where cases were settled for AU$165 million and AU$190 million, respectively.

Lead applicant of the lawsuit, Minnie McDonald, remembered the blatant discrimination First Nations workers faced at the hands of the station administrators. McDonald said there were even days they went without sufficient food.

"I was working with my family – my father, my mother and my brothers were on the station. I later met my husband when working on stations," McDonald told The Guardian. "We had nothing and had to live on, bush tucker and a bit of bread. A lot of those people we worked with are gone now."

McDonald said the indigenous community was paid much less than their non-indigenous counterparts, amounting to virtual slavery. She added their lives were hard, as they were denied education and were forced to live in the bush, per SBS.

"This is about all the people who were working everywhere and never got paid nothing."

The federal court weighed evidence from Darwin, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Alice Springs. Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy hailed the judgment.

"The NT historical wages class action concerns a deeply regrettable and shameful chapter in Australian history," she said. "It is my hope that, if approved, the settlement will bring closure to many First Nations people impacted by these Commonwealth laws."

The AU$202 million in settlement will be paid to eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers or their surviving spouses and children. To receive the compensation, workers and their families will have to register and apply.