Aboriginal man Terry Irving, who was wrongfully imprisoned for four-and-a-half years for a robbery he did not commit, has still not received an apology from the State of Queensland, more than 30 years after he was first incarcerated.

Mr Irving spent 1,761 days in prison for armed robbery in Cairns from 1993 until his conviction was overturned by the High Court in 1997 after the State conceded he had not received a fair trial.

Speaking outside of the Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday, where Justice Susan Brown is to decide on how much compensation Mr Irving is owed, AAP reported he said "no amount of money" would compensate for the days of his life he lost in a small cell in Stuart prison.

"It's been 31 years since I was incarcerated for something I never done," Mr Irving said.

"It's taken this long to vindicate me ... what I want from this process is there to be more transparency for everyone in Queensland."

Mr Irving was never compensated for his incarceration. He is seeking damages in the Supreme Court for being subject to a malicious prosecution on the lesser charge of accessory to robbery, which led him to spending a week in jail.

Like most jurisdictions in Australia, Queensland offers no statutory recourse for a wrongful conviction - even with mistreatment. Compensation is only available to people who can prove they were prosecuted maliciously.

Mr Irving was initially charged as an accessory to the 1993 armed robbery of $6,000 from a Cairns bank.

Held on remand for accessory, he was investigated by Queensland police for armed robbery and seven days later he was charged, and later convicted, of the robbery.

In 1997 he was released by the High Court, with then-Chief Justice, Sir Gerard Brennan, describing the case as a "very disturbing situation" about which he had the "gravest misgivings".

In 2021, the Queensland Court of Appeal ruled that now-retired detective Helen Pfingst had initially acted with improper purpose when she charged Mr Irving as an accessory when she knew he did not commit the offence.

On Thursday, the State argued Mr Irving should be compensated for this seven day period, but not for the period after he was charged with robbery.

Guardian Australia reported Mr Irving's barrister, Gerard Mullins KC, said the damages should be "significant" after his client's long ordeal which had a "catastrophic impact on his life".

"There is no other [comparative] case … where the complainant has fought so long to obtain vindication," Mr Mullins told the court.

He argued there were cases of people awarded $100,000 for humiliation and damage to their reputations after being wrongfully imprisoned for only a day.

"What we see is a complete lack of remorse and apology from either the [prosecuting detective] or the [state] for anything that occurred to him," Mr Mullins said.

"An apology at this point in time, may after so much time has passed, seem hollow in the circumstances."

Outside of the court, AAP reported Mr Irving said he wanted to see "more accountability" for the agencies that acted against the law and cost him close to five years of his life.

"I would like for it to not take 30-odd years for restorative justice for everyone in this state," he said, noting that money is "really not an issue".

"I'm sad for the experience I've been through, but I overcome that sadness with the hope that it stops with me, that the people of Queensland determine what is right for them, and that would be justice."

Justice Brown reserved her decision on Thursday.