National Australia Bank customers have until January 27 to register compensation claims in the fees class action mounted by Maurice Blackburn.

Justice Peter Jacobson of the Federal Court in Sydney approved the opening of the class action to all NAB customers on Tuesday.

Customers who believe they were levied late fees or other exception fees unfairly by the bank need to register at the website of Financial Redress Pty Ltd, the company that is funding the legal action.

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Those customers who do not register will not be eligible for compensation.

James Middleweek, the managing director of Financial Redress, said the company would begin taking registrations from customers who were not already signed up to the class action from November 25.

“Customers are being asked to join the class action which covers all types of exception fees levied by the National Australia Bank,” he said.

The extent of NAB’s exposure to the settlement negotiations is likely to hinge on the outcome of a pending Federal Court decision in a test case on the legitimacy of bank fees in Australia.

Justice Gordon of the Federal Court found in February that late fees on credit cards were capable of being penalties and were therefore illegal, but that other exception fees such as those on dishonoured transactions were legitimate.

In her decision, Justice Gordon also lifted the six-year limit on claims for compensation in relation to late payment fees.

This means that NAB customers who incurred late penalties as far back as the 1980s might be eligible for compensation.

Paul Gillett, senior associate in the class actions team at Maurice Blackburn, said the court’s decision to approve the opening of the class action was an important step in securing a settlement for NAB customers.

“We welcome NAB’s common-sense approach in exploring the resolution of the bank fees class action against it, and we encourage other banks to follow suit,” he said.

Customers wanting to join the class action can do so at the Financial Redress website from Tuesday November 25.