A Melbourne-based law firm is preparing to launch a class action against ride-hailing service Uber and claims it has the backing of around 1000 conventional taxi drivers.

“We expect it [the class action] to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars,” Maurice Blackburn senior associate Elizabeth O’Shea told the AAP news service.

She said the taxi drivers had lost “hundreds of thousands” of dollars during a period between April 1, 2014, and July 31, 2017, when Uber was said to be acting unlawfully.

Uber received the Government’s green light to operate in Victoria in August 2017. The Maurice Blackburn action refers to operations before this date, which it claims cost taxi drivers or owners considerable sums.

O’Shea has said the lawsuit will be bankrolled externally, with A$20 million already offered so taxi drivers don’t have to use their own cash to join the action.