Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who took part in a controversial work for the dole scheme have launched a class action, claiming the program was racially discriminatory.

The class action, launched by Maurice Blackburn lawyers on Monday, is seeking compensation for Indigenous people who undertook work activities under the Community Development Program (CDP) between 2015 and 2021.

Principal lawyer Miranda Nagy said program participants, who were disproportionately Indigenous people in remote communities, had to work many more hours to receive the same payments as someone on work for the dole payments in the city.

She estimates First Nations people in remote areas worked an additional 30 million hours under the program.

"The other aspect of unfairness was that if you didn't t

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