The real cost of unpaid wages to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over three decades could be up to $500 million as there is no compensation element in the settlement or an interest component, analysts claim.

Key points: Jackie Trad said the money will come from a State Government insurance fund, set aside for class actions

Jackie Trad said the money will come from a State Government insurance fund, set aside for class actions Lawyers involved in the class action said it was not clear how many people would receive payouts

Lawyers involved in the class action said it was not clear how many people would receive payouts Lead claimant Hans Pearson said he is hopeful the decision would lead to the same outcomes for similar stolen wages cases across the country

A consultant to the class action, Aboriginal affairs specialist Dr Ros Kidd, estimated the real cost owed to workers was almost five times more than the agreed amount.

"I did an estimate, which Peter Beattie actually mentioned in parliament, of $500 million," Dr Kidd told 7.30.

The Queensland Government settled the long-running stolen wages case for $190 million on Tuesday, with thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people seeking to recover wages earned over three decades.

Lead claimant Hans Pearson, 80, said it was only by chance that he was able to obtain the documents needed to move forward with the class action after his son stumbled upon a year's worth of payslips at the local dump.

Mr Pearson said his son had been working on Palm Island in 2007 when he was asked to take boxes of documents to the dump.

"[The] first box he opened was my wife's documents and mine, what the government kept on us where we worked and what we'd done which was good," Mr Pearson said.

Shortly after the discovery Mr Pearson met with Cairns-based lawyer John Bottoms, but it was not until years later that action was taken, with thousands of others adding their voices to the class action.

Mr Pearson said he worked hard as a stockman in north Queensland between 1939 and 1972, but never saw a cent.

"It was hard days then especially when it's raining you still had to muster, cattle and the tucker wasn't that good, just corned beef and damper seven days a week," he said.

"Especially flood times you were swimming in crocodile-infested rivers.

"I haven't seen money in all the time I worked.

"We had no option, we were under the act, third-class citizens we were and we couldn't do a thing about it."

The significance of the class action has been likened to the work done by Eddie Mabo, a close personal friend of Mr Pearson.

"Old Ed, I'm glad that I achieved something with him. He was a very smart man I am honoured," he said.

A number of the other claimants have been in touch with Mr Pearson to pass on their gratitude.

"Gingos, they are calling me a hero and you know thanks very much and all that, it's just someone had to do something you know," he said.

Hans Pearson, pictured with his nephew Noel Pearson, was the lead claimant in the class action. ( ABC News )

Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Partnerships Jackie Trad said the money will come from a State Government insurance fund, set aside for class actions of this kind.

"The first claim came in over 10 years ago. We feel it is time we recognised the past, we apologise for the past and we move on with appropriate reparation," she said.

Ms Trad said the Government acknowledged the money was stolen over decades, money they deserved to get for their own work and labour, but was taken from them.

If it gets approved by the Federal Court the settlement will be the fifth largest in Queensland's history.

'Who is going to get this payment?'

An Aboriginal elder, who has been campaigning for the recovery of stolen wages from Queensland Indigenous workers for years, says she has not been told whether she will be compensated in the landmark payout.

Ruth Hegarty, who was sent to work as a domestic servant at just 14, said the news took her by surprise.

"When I heard this last night I thought, 'where did they get the money from?'. We were told at the time there was nothing else to be paid out. I want to know how it happened and when this happened and who is going to get this payment," she said.

Lawyers involved in the class action said it was not clear how many people would receive payouts after it was agreed in principle but was still subject to Federal Court approval.

Noel Pearson's uncle Hans Pearson with his young family. ( Supplied: Hans Pearson )

Instructing solicitor Mr Bottoms said about 7,000 people signed up to the legal bid, but he believed more were entitled.

"If you lived in district or on a mission or on a reserve in Queensland and you had a paid job during that time and if your pay was controlled by the Queensland Government or the head of mission or reserve, and you believe you weren't given all of your pay, could you please give us a ring," he said.

Cape York Institute director Noel Pearson said the settlement was "a breakthrough" after years of injustice.

"This is a major major issue that has dogged the state for many decades," he said.

Mr Pearson claimed some of the money that was stolen was put into the Welfare Fund of the Queensland Department of Native Affairs and used to fund infrastructure for the mainstream population.

"For example, the Toowoomba Hospital was paid for from the Aborigines welfare fund," he said.

"So this has been a longstanding question of justice for Aboriginal workers."