Skip to main content

Ribbon

  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Glossary
  • News & media
Fair Work Commission logo

Fair Work Commission

Australia's national workplace relations tribunal
Search is closed
Menu is closed

Search

Main menu

  • Awards & agreements
    • Minimum wages & conditions
    • Awards
    • Agreements
    • Legislation & regulations for awards & agreements
  • Cases, decisions & orders
    • Major cases
    • Summaries of significant decisions
    • Decisions by keywords
    • FWC Bulletin
    • Archived decisions & orders
    • Transcripts
    • Court reviews
    • Historical cases
  • Registered organisations
    • Fact sheets, templates & webinars
    • Find registered organisations
    • Find State-recognised associations
    • Registration
    • Running a registered organisation
    • Entry permits
    • Industrial action
    • Gazette notices
    • Lodgment
  • Resources
    • Online lodgment
    • Forms
    • Where to get legal help
    • Research
    • Workplace Relations Education Series
    • Benchbooks
    • Fact sheets, guides & videos
    • Practice notes
    • Resources in other languages
    • Case studies
    • Quarterly practitioner updates
    • Related sites
  • Termination of employment
    • Unfair dismissal
    • General protections dismissal
    • Unlawful termination
    • How the Commission works
  • Disputes at work
    • Fairness in the workplace
    • Resolving issues at the Commission
    • Cooperative Workplaces program
    • JobKeeper disputes
    • General protections (unlawful actions)
    • Anti-bullying
    • Industrial action
    • Awards & enterprise agreements disputes
    • Disputes about entry
    • Casual conversion disputes
    • How the Commission works
  • Home
  • Annual Report 2015–16
  • Part 3: Performance
  • Operational performance
  • Major application types
Back to top

2015–16 Major application types: General protections & unlawful termination disputes

Print this page

 

The general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act, set out in Part 3–1, aim to protect workplace rights and freedom of association, and to provide protection from workplace discrimination.

The Commission's role under the Fair Work Act is to assist parties, in private conference, to resolve a dispute arising from general protections claims. In limited cases it can make a determination if both parties agree to it doing so.

General protections claims are sometimes referred to as adverse action claims. Adverse actions can include:

  • dismissing a person
  • not giving a person his or her legal entitlements
  • changing a person's job to his or her disadvantage
  • treating a person differently than others
  • not hiring a person
  • offering a person different (and unfair) terms and conditions, compared to other employees

General protections disputes involving dismissal

A person who believes he or she has been dismissed in contravention of the general protections provisions may apply to the Commission to deal with the dispute under s.365 of the Fair Work Act. The application must be made within 21 days of the dismissal taking effect. The Commission must then deal with the dispute, by mediation or conciliation, or by making a recommendation or expressing a view, in private conference. Under the Act, if resolution is unsuccessful, the Commission must issue a certificate to this effect, which allows the applicant to apply within 14 days to the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Circuit Court of Australia to have the matter determined. Alternatively, the parties can, within the same timeframe, consent to the Commission arbitrating the dispute. The Commission must advise the parties if it considers such a court or arbitration application would have no reasonable prospects of success.

Delivery

In 2015–16, the Commission extended the staff conciliation model that it had successfully piloted in 2014–15 to all general protections applications involving dismissal. The model is based on the Commission's approach to unfair dismissal matters, and involves applications being managed by a central case management team and referred to specialist staff for private telephone conferences.

The staff conciliation model assists the Commission to deal with the volume of applications while at the same time freeing up Commission Members to deal with more complex matters.

Last year's pilot involved applications from Western Australia, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory. From July to September 2015, the Commission progressively rolled the model out to applications lodged in all states. The Commission also established a dedicated case management team during the year.

In 2015–16, 71 per cent of all matters referred to specialist staff were resolved during conciliation. This closely matches the 73 per cent resolution rate in last year's pilot. This rate was higher than the 60 per cent resolution rate for conferences convened by Commission Members during the pilot period.

The Commission established a participant satisfaction survey during the pilot and continued these surveys during 2015–16. Satisfaction levels with the process, information materials and conduct of the conciliation conference remained high during the year, on par with or better than the pilot results. A total of 72 per cent of participants were either satisfied or very satisfied with the entire general protections conciliation process, including conferences conducted by Members and staff conciliators. This compared with 63 per cent of participants surveyed during the pilot.

The extension of the pilot also enabled more information to be gathered about the outcomes agreed to by parties as a result of conciliation and the Commission is now able to publish this information (see Table 16).

The Commission's focus in 2016–2017 is on continuing to improve both its service model and data collection on the parties' conciliation experiences and outcomes.

Performance

In 2015–16 the Commission:

  • received 3,270 applications to deal with general protections disputes involving dismissal
  • resolved 71 per cent of general protections applications referred to specialist staff for conciliation
  • hosted 27,968 participants in its online eligibility quiz for general protections applications
  • received 35,192 website visits to the General Protections Benchbook

Applications made

In 2015–16, the Commission received 3,270 applications to deal with general protections disputes involving dismissal. This was slightly fewer than the 3,382 received in the previous year. Until this reporting period, annual application numbers had been trending upwards since the provisions took effect. The month-by-month statistics on lodgments for 2015–16 show they peaked in December then dipped in January, reflecting an expected drop in activity over the Christmas/New Year period (see Figure 8).

Table 16: General protections disputes involving dismissal — lodgments
Matter type No. of applications lodged Total finalised Manner finalised Number of matters

 

2015–16

2014–15

2013–14

2015–16

2014–15

2013–14

 

2015–16

2014–15

2013–14

s.365 —General protections

3,270

3,382

2,879

3,060

3,475

2,778

Certificate issued

755

1,073

967

Without certificate issued

2,305

2,402

1,811

Figure 8: General protections disputes involving dismissal — lodgments — monthly comparison

>Figure 8: General protections disputes involving dismissal — lodgments — monthly comparison

Figure 8 provides a month-by-month comparison of the number of applications lodged relating to general protections disputes involving dismissal from 2012–13 to 2015–16. It represents data that can be found in Appendix D, Table 62.

Timeliness

The median time from an application being lodged to the first conference being conducted increased slightly in 2015–16 compared to the previous year, from 45 to 50 days.

This was largely the result of issues relating to implementing the new staff conciliation model, which have been addressed.

In 2015–16, 90 per cent of matters were finalised in 103 days compared with 97 days in 2014–15.

Table 17: General protections disputes involving dismissal — timeliness
Type of application Percentage of matters
  50% 90%
  2015–16 2014–15 2013–14 2012–13 2015–16 2014–15 2013–14 2012–13

General protections disputes involving dismissal s.365 – lodgment to first conciliation (days)

45 31 29 29 68 62 59 56

General protections disputes involving dismissal s.365 – lodgment to finalisation (days)

50 37 41 41 103 97 106 111

Outcomes

In 2015–16, the Commission is for the first time publishing data on the outcomes of general protections applications involving dismissal. The information is similar to that which it provides on unfair dismissal applications. The Commission does this to provide parties preparing for conferences with as much information as possible on how previous applications have been finalised. Whilst parties are not legally required to provide this information, in 2015–16 the Commission was able to collect enough data to publish this indicative information.

Table 18: Outcomes of applications 2015–16
Stage of proceeding Number Percent of total

Withdrawn prior to a conference

433 15%

Withdrawn prior to or after a conference or hearing to deal with extension of time

30 <1%

Extension of time (to apply) refused

99 3%

Application dismissed

29 <1%

Dispute resolved at conciliation

1,631 53%

Withdrawn after conciliation

83 3%

Dispute not resolved: certificate issued

755 25%

Total

3,060 100% (rounded)

The 2015–16 data shows that 53 per cent of general protections applications involving dismissal were resolved in conciliation. A certificate issued that the dispute remained unresolved for 25 per cent of matters.

For matters settled in conciliation, 63 per cent included a monetary payment. Of these, 60 per cent were for amounts of less than $6,000 and 82 per cent were settled for less than $15,000. Unlike the unfair dismissal jurisdiction, the amount of compensation a court or the Commission can order is uncapped for general protections applications.

Table 19: Outcomes of disputes settled 2015–16
Result type Number Percent of total disputes resolved

Dispute resolved: monetary

576 35%

Dispute resolved: monetary and non-monetary

614 28%

Dispute resolved: non-monetary

344 21%

Dispute resolved: details unknown

97 6%
Table 20: Range of outcomes where a settlement involved monetary payment 2015–16
Range Number Percent of settlements involving monetary payment
$0–$999 117 10
$1,000–$1,999 178 15
$2,000–$3,999 224 19
$4,000–$5,999 180 16
$6,000–$7,999 91 8
$8,000–$9,999 52 4
$10,000–$14,999 108 9
$15,000–$19,999 54 5
$20,000–$29,999 45 4
$30,000–$39,999 26 2
$40,000–$49,999 16 1
$50,000–$59,999 7 1
$60,000–$69,999 7 1
$70,000–$79,999 6 1
$80,000–$89,999 4 0
$90,000–$99,999 6 1
$90,000–$99,999 6 1
$100,000+ 13 1
Unknown 56 5

Arbitration

Very few parties have opted to use the consent arbitration pathway since its introduction in 1 January 2014, and this low take up rate continued in 2015–16. Of the 755 disputes in which a certificate was issued during the year, only 18 (2.4 per cent) were submitted for consent arbitration by the Commission.

Table 21: Applications for consent arbitration of general protections disputes involving dismissal
Type of application No. of applications
  2015–16 2014–15 2013–14
s.365 – Application to deal with contraventions involving dismissal (consent arbitration) 18 16 8

General protections disputes not involving dismissal

An employee who believes he or she has been subjected to adverse action for a prohibited reason but who remains employed may also make a general protections application to the Commission, under s.372 of the Fair Work Act.

As with general protections disputes involving dismissal, if attempts to resolve disputes not involving dismissal are unsuccessful at the Commission, the applicant may apply to either the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Circuit Court of Australia to have them determined. Again, the Commission is obliged to advise the parties if it believes such an application would have no reasonable prospect of success.

In 2015–16, the Commission received 859 applications under s.372 of the Fair Work Act, down slightly from 879 in the previous year. This compares with 504 five years ago, in 2010–11. The number of general protections applications not involving dismissal, as with those involving dismissal, had until this year trended upwards since the provisions took effect.

General protections disputes not involving dismissals are not part of the staff conciliation model, and continue to be dealt with by Commission Members.

Table 22: General protections disputes not involving dismissal — lodgments
Type of application No. of applications
  2015–16 2014–15 2013–14 2012–13
General protections – other contraventions s.372 859 879 779 555

Timeliness

In 2015–16, the Commission conducted the first conference for 90 per cent of applications within 54 days of lodgment. This was similar to last year's timeliness result (see Table 23).

Table 23: General protections disputes not involving dismissal — timeliness

Type of application

Percentage of matters

 

50%

90%

 

2015–16

2014–15

2013–14

2012–13

2015–16

2014–15

2013–14

2012–13

General protections–other contraventions s.372–lodgment to first conference (days)

27 29 26 25 54 55 50 49

Unlawful termination disputes

Employees who fall outside the coverage of the Fair Work Act's general protection provisions (Part 3–1) are able to bring unlawful termination claims under Part 6–4 of the legislation.

The broad application of the general protections scheme means that not many applicants rely on the unlawful termination provisions, which apply mainly to non-national system employees. This is reflected in the considerably lower number of unlawful termination lodgments than general protections disputes of either kind in 2015–16, as in previous years (see Table 24).

This year, the Commission received 81 unlawful termination applications. As with general protections applications both involving and not involving dismissal, this was down on the previous year's total, which was 114.

The Commission finalised 72 matters without a certificate being issued, and 10 with a certificate issued.

Table 24: Unlawful termination disputes — lodgments

Matter type

No. of applications lodged

Total finalised

Manner finalised

Number of matters

 

2015–16

2014–15

2013–14

2015–16

2014–15

2013–14

 

2015–16

2014–15

2013–14

s.773–Unlawful termination

81

114

130

82

120

128

Certificate issued

10

15

9

Without certificate issued

72

105

119

Timeliness

In 2015–16, 90 per cent of matters were finalised in 87 days compared with 131 days in 2014–15.

Table 25: Unlawful termination disputes — timeliness

Type of application

Percentage of matters

 

50%

90%

 

2015–16

2014–15

2013–14

2012–13

2015–16

2014–15

2013–14

2012–13

Unlawful terminations s.773 – lodgment to first conference (days)

30

39

37

27

63

67

57

71

Unlawful terminations s.773 – lodgment to finalisation (days)

20

35

25

32

87

131

75

102

Keep reading the annual report

Operational performance: Major application typesMajor application types: Unfair dismissalMajor application types: General protections & unlawful termination disputesMajor application types: Anti-bullyingMajor application types: Enterprise agreements

Mini sites

  • Annual Report 2013–14
    • Reader's guide
    • 1. Overview
      • President's introduction
      • General Manager's overview
      • Performance summary
      • Major achievements 2013–14
    • 2. About the Commission
      • Who we are and what we do
      • Our structure
      • Outcome and program structure
      • Our clients and stakeholders
        • In focus—Small Business Outreach
      • Our future direction
        • In focus–New website
        • In focus–Virtual tour
        • In focus–Mock hearings
      • Our history
    • 3. Performance reporting
      • Overview
      • Legislative amendments
      • Workload
      • Timeliness benchmarks
      • Resolving disputes
      • Determining unfair dismissal applications
      • Setting the minimum wage
        • In focus–Pay Equity Unit
      • Orders relating to industrial action
        • Case study–Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority
        • Case study–Sydney Water
      • Processes relating to modern awards
        • In focus–4 yearly review of awards
      • Approving agreements
        • Case study–Catholic Education Victoria
        • Case study–Orora Fibre Packaging
      • Regulating registered organisations
      • Determining anti-bullying applications
        • In focus–Setting up the anti-bullying jurisdiction
        • Case study–Anti-bullying
      • Key performance indicators
    • 4. Management and accountability
      • Corporate governance
      • Planning and development
      • Ethical standards
      • Accountability
      • Our workforce
      • Employee pay and entitlements
      • Service Charter, complaints and Code of Conduct
      • Financial management
    • 5. Appendices
      • A | Member activities
      • B | List of Members
      • C | Panel assignments
      • D | Methodology for Chart 2–Matters dealt with by the Commission and its predecessors 1998–99 to 2013–14
      • E | Promoting fairness and improving access
      • F | Efficiency and innovation
      • G | Increasing accountability
      • H | Productivity and engaging with industry
      • I | Documents relating to the work of the Commission
      • J | Fair Work Commission addresses
      • K | Lodgment and case load statistics
      • L | Methodology for Chart 6–Number of Commission sittings, various
      • M | Subscription services
      • N | Information on specific statutory requirements
      • O | Fraud Control Certificate
      • P | Fair Work Commission Service Charter
      • Q | Financial statements
        • Independent Audit Report
        • Statement by the General Manager and Chief Financial Officer
        • Statement of Comprehensive Income
        • Statement of Financial Position
        • Statement of Changes in Equity
        • Cash Flow Statement
        • Schedule of Commitments
        • Schedule of Administered Items
        • Notes to the financial statements
          • Note 1: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
          • Note 2: Events after the Reporting Period
          • Note 3: Expenses
          • Note 4: Income
          • Note 5: Fair Value Measurements
          • Note 6: Financial Assets
          • Note 7: Non-financial Assets
          • Note 8: Payables
          • Note 9: Provisions
          • Note 10: Cash Flow Reconciliation
          • Note 11: Contingent Liabilities and Assets
          • Note 12: Senior Executive Remuneration
          • Note 13: Remuneration of Auditors
          • Note 14: Financial Instruments
          • Note 15: Financial Assets Reconciliation
          • Note 16: Administered Income
          • Note 17: Administered Payables
          • Note 18: Administered Cash Flow Reconciliation
          • Note 19: Administered Contingent Liabilities and Assets
          • Note 20: Appropriations
          • Note 21: Compliance with Statutory Conditions for Payments from the Consolidated Revenue Fund
          • Note 22: Compensation and Debt Relief
          • Note 23: Reporting of Outcomes
          • Note 24: Net Cash Appropriation Arrangements
      • R | Agency resource statement
      • S | Expenses and resources for outcome
      • T | Glossary
      • U | Acronyms and abbreviations
      • V | List of requirements
    • Letter of transmittal
    • Inquiries and copyright
    • Videos
    • Downloads
  • Annual Report 2014–15
    • Introduction
    • Preliminary information
      • Contents
      • Letter of transmittal
      • Readers guide
    • Part 1 Overview
      • President's introduction
      • General Manager's overview
      • Performance summary
      • Major achievements
    • Part 2 About the Commission
      • Outcome and programme structure
      • Who we are and what we do
      • Our structure
      • Our history
      • Our clients and stakeholders
      • Our future direction
      • Future directions - Continuing the change program
    • Part 3 Performance reporting
      • Overview
      • Legislative amendments
      • Workload
      • Timeliness benchmarks
      • Resolving disputes
      • Unlawful termination disputes
      • Determining unfair dismissal applications
      • Setting the minimum wage
      • Orders relating to industrial action
      • Processes relating to modern awards
      • Enterprise agreements
      • Determining anti-bullying applications
      • Regulating registered organisations
      • Key performance indicators
    • Part 4 Management and accountability
      • Corporate governance
      • Planning and development
      • Workplace health and safety
      • Business continuity
      • Ethical standards
      • Fair Work Commission values
      • Freedom of information
      • Accountability
      • The Commission's workforce
      • Employee pay and entitlements
      • Service Charter, complaints and code of conduct
      • Financial management
      • Agency resource statement
      • Expenses and resources for outcome
    • Acronyms and abbreviations
    • Part 5 Appendices
      • Appendix A
      • Appendix B
      • Appendix C
      • Appendix D
      • Appendix E
      • Appendix F
      • Appendix G
      • Appendix H
      • Appendix I
      • Appendix J
      • Appendix K
      • Appendix L
      • Appendix M
      • Appendix N
      • Glossary
  • Annual Report 2015–16
    • Preliminary information
      • Letter of transmittal
      • Readers' guide
    • Part 1: Overview
      • President's report
      • General Manager's report
    • Part 2: About the Commission
    • Part 3: Performance
      • Performance summary
      • Annual performance statements 2015–16
      • Operational performance
        • Applications lodged
        • Hearings & conferences
        • Information & assistance
        • Major application types
          • Unfair dismissals
          • General protections & unlawful termination disputes
          • Anti-bullying
          • Enterprise agreements
          • Resolving disputes
          • Industrial action
        • New Approaches
        • Setting the minimum wage
        • Modern awards
        • Regulating registered organisations
        • Appeals
      • Significant decisions
      • Case studies
        • Case study: Enterprise agreements pilot
        • Case study: Patrick & the MUA
        • Case study: Encouraging regulatory compliance
    • Part 4: Management & accountability
      • Corporate governance
      • Financial management
      • Other mandatory information
    • Appendices
      • Appendix A: List of Members
      • Appendix B: Panel assignments
      • Appendix C: Member activities
      • Appendix D: Lodgment & case load statistics
      • Appendix E: Registered organisations data
      • Appendix F: Performance reporting for the RSRT
      • Appendix G: Financial statements
      • Appendix H: Subscription services
      • Appendix I: Service charter
      • Appendix J: List of requirements
      • Appendix K: Expense & resources outcome, agency resource statement & financial performance analysis
    • Glossary
    • Acronyms & abbreviations
    • Contact us
  • Annual Wage Review 2013–14
  • Anti-bullying benchbook
    • Glossary & naming conventions
    • Overview of benchbook
    • What is workplace bullying?
    • Who is covered by workplace bullying laws?
      • Definition of ‘worker’
      • Definition of ‘constitutionally-covered business’
        • What is a person conducting a business or undertaking?
        • What is a Territory or a Commonwealth place?
        • What is a constitutional corporation?
        • What is the Commonwealth?
    • When is a worker bullied at work?
      • What does ‘at work’ mean?
      • Risk of continued bullying
      • Reasonable management action
    • Making an application
    • Responding to an application
    • If the worker has been dismissed
    • Commission processes
      • Procedural issues
      • Representation by lawyers and paid agents
    • Evidence
    • Outcomes
      • Dismissing an application
      • Contravening an order of the Commission
    • Associated applications
      • Costs
      • Appeals
      • Role of the Court
  • Corporate Plan 2018–19
    • 1. Message from the General Manager
    • 2. Purpose
    • 3. Operating environment
    • 4. Culture
    • 5. Capability
    • 6. Performance
  • Corporate Plan 2019–20
    • 1. Message from the General Manager
    • 2. Purpose
    • 3. Operating environment
    • 4. Our focus
    • 5. Culture
    • 6. Capability
    • 7. Performance
  • Corporate Plan 2020-21
    • 1. Message from the General Manager
    • 2. Purpose
    • 3. Operating environment
    • 4. Key activities
    • 5. Capability
    • 6. Risk
    • 7. Performance
  • Enterprise agreements benchbook
    • Glossary & naming conventions
    • Overview of benchbook
    • What is an enterprise agreement?
      • Single-enterprise agreement
      • Multi-enterprise agreement
      • Differences between single and multi-enterprise agreements
      • Greenfields agreement
    • Content of an enterprise agreement
      • Permitted matters
      • Coverage
      • Scope – who will be covered?
      • Terms & conditions of employment
      • Base rate of pay
      • Nominal expiry date
      • Mandatory terms
      • Flexibility term
      • Consultation term
      • Dispute settlement term
      • Optional terms
      • Terms that cannot be included
        • Terms that exclude the NES
        • Unlawful terms
        • Designated outworker terms
    • Agreement making process
      • Representation
      • Employee right to be represented
      • Bargaining representatives
    • Bargaining
      • Good faith bargaining
      • How long does bargaining take?
    • Voting
      • Voting process
      • Who can vote?
      • Timeframe for vote
      • Voting methods
      • When is an agreement made?
      • If parties cannot agree
    • Making an application
      • Common defects & issues
        • National Employment Standards
        • Better off overall test
        • Mandatory terms
        • Other terms
        • Pre-approval requirements
        • Forms & lodgment
      • Who must apply
      • Timeframe to apply
      • Material to accompany application
      • Signing an agreement
      • Employer must notify employees
    • Commission approval process
      • Genuine agreement
        • Minor procedural or technical errors
      • Where a scope order is in operation
      • Particular kinds of employees
      • Better off overall test (BOOT)
        • When an agreement passes
        • Classes of employees
        • Which award applies
        • Advice about coverage
        • Loaded rates of pay
      • Public interest test
      • Undertakings
      • Powers of the Commission
    • Associated applications
      • Majority support determinations
      • Authorisations to commence bargaining
        • Single interest employer authorisations
        • Ministerial declaration
        • Low-paid authorisations
      • Scope orders
      • Bargaining orders
      • Serious breach declarations
      • Disputes
      • Workplace determinations
        • Low-paid
        • Industrial action related
        • Bargaining related
      • Role of the Court
      • Appeals
      • Varying enterprise agreements
        • Varying by agreement
        • Ambiguity or uncertainty
        • Discrimination
      • Terminating enterprise agreements
        • Terminating by agreement
        • After its nominal expiry date
      • Terminating individual agreements
  • General Manager reporting requirements
  • General protections benchbook
    • Glossary & naming conventions
    • Overview of benchbook
      • When is a person covered by the general protections?
    • What are the general protections?
    • How do the general protections work?
      • Rebuttable presumption as to reason or intent
    • Coverage for general protections
      • What is a constitutionally-covered entity?
      • What is a Territory or a Commonwealth place?
      • What is a trade and commerce employer?
      • What is a Territory employer?
      • What is a national system employer?
    • What if I am not covered?
    • What is adverse action?
      • What is dismissal?
      • Injuring employee in their employment
      • Altering the position of the employee
      • Discriminating
      • Threatened action and organisation of action
      • Exclusions
    • Workplace rights protections
      • Meaning of workplace right
      • Coercion
      • Undue influence or pressure
      • Misrepresentations
      • Requiring the use of COVIDSafe
    • Industrial activities protections
      • What are industrial activities?
      • Coercion
      • Misrepresentations
      • Inducements – membership action
    • Other protections
      • Discrimination
        • Race
        • Colour
        • Gender identity & sexual orientation
        • Age
        • Physical or mental disability
        • Marital status
        • Family or carer’s responsibilities
        • Pregnancy
        • Religion
        • Political opinion
        • National extraction
        • Social origin
      • Exceptions
      • Temporary absence – illness or injury
      • Bargaining services fees
      • Coverage by particular instruments
      • Coercion – allocation of duties to particular person
    • Sham arrangements
      • Misrepresenting employment
      • Dismissing to engage as independent contractor
      • Misrepresentation to engage as independent contractor
    • Making an application
      • Dismissal applications
        • Timeframe for lodgment
        • Extension of time for lodging an application
      • Non-dismissal applications
      • Other types of applications
        • Multiple actions relating to dismissal
        • Unfair dismissal
        • Unlawful termination
        • Court application
        • Discrimination
    • Power to dismiss applications
    • Evidence
    • Commission process
      • Conferences & hearings
      • Dealing with different types of general protections disputes
      • Rescheduling or adjourning matters
      • Representation by lawyers and paid agents
      • Bias
    • Outcomes
    • Costs
      • When are costs ordered by the Commission?
      • Costs against representatives
    • Appeals
    • Role of the Court
      • Enforcement of Commission orders
      • Types of order made by the Court
  • Industrial action benchbook
    • Glossary & naming conventions
    • What is industrial action?
      • Unprotected industrial action
        • Orders to stop or prevent unprotected industrial action
      • Protected industrial action
        • Immunity
        • Common requirements
        • Employee claim action
        • Employer response action
        • Employee response action
        • Pattern bargaining
    • Taking protected industrial action
      • Protected action ballots
        • Who may apply?
        • Making an application
        • Commission process
        • Varying a protected action ballot order
        • Revoking a protected action ballot order
      • Voting
        • Ballot agents
        • Who may vote – roll of voters
        • Ballot papers
        • Voting procedure
        • Scrutiny of the ballot
        • Results of the ballot
        • When is industrial action authorised?
      • Notice requirements
      • Commencing protected industrial action
    • Payments relating to industrial action
      • Partial work bans
      • Unprotected industrial action – payments
      • Standing down employees
    • Suspension or termination of protected industrial action
      • Powers of the Commission
        • When the Commission may suspend or terminate
        • When the Commission must suspend or terminate
          • Threats to persons or the economy
          • Suspending industrial action
        • Requirements relating to a period of suspension
      • Powers of the Minister
    • Enforcement
    • Appeals
  • JobKeeper benchbook
    • Glossary
    • Introduction
      • Provisions of the Fair Work Act
    • JobKeeper enabling directions – general
      • Service & entitlement accrual
      • When a JobKeeper enabling direction will have no effect
      • Stand downs that are not jobkeeper enabling stand downs
      • Employee requests
    • Jobkeeper enabling stand down directions – entitled employers
      • Directions about duties & location of work
    • Jobkeeper enabling directions – legacy employers
      • Jobkeeper enabling stand down directions – legacy employers
      • Directions about duties & location of work – legacy employers
      • Termination of a jobkeeper enabling direction – legacy employers
    • Agreements about days or times of work
      • Agreements about days or times of work – entitled employers
      • Agreements about days or times of work – legacy employers
      • Termination of an agreement about days or times of work
    • Employer payment obligations
      • Wage condition
      • Minimum payment guarantee
      • Hourly rate of pay guarantee
    • Agreements about annual leave
    • Protections
    • Disputes we cannot assist with
    • Applications to deal with a dispute
      • Who can make an application
      • Responding to an application
      • Objecting to an application
      • Discontinuing an application
    • Commission process
      • General information
      • Conferences & hearings
      • Procedural issues
    • Evidence
    • Outcomes
      • Contravening an order
      • Appeals
      • Role of the Court
    • Attachments
    • Attachment 5 – provisions that continue to apply
  • Modern Awards Review 2012
    • Introduction
      • Modern Awards Review 2012
  • Sir Richard Kirby Archives
    • Home
    • Sir Richard Kirby
    • About the Archives
    • Cases
      • Case
      • The Honourable Justice Henry Bournes Higgins (1851–1929)
    • Centenary
    • Exhibitions
      • Exhibition launch: The history of the Australian minimum wage
      • Guide – Opening Exhibition
      • International Industrial Dispute Resolution Conference
        • Speaker – Justice Alan Boulton AO
        • Speaker – Mr Arthur F Rosenfeld
        • Speaker – Mr Craig Smith
        • Speaker – Mr James Wilson
        • Speaker – Mr Kieran Mulvey
        • Speaker – Mr Peter Anderson
        • Speaker – Ms Ginette Brazeau
        • Speaker – Ms Nerine Kahn
        • Speaker – Ms Rita Donaghy CBE
        • Speaker – Ms Sharan Burrow
        • Speaker – Senator Guy Barnett
        • Speaker – The Hon. Julia Gillard
      • The Journey
        • Court
          • Early years
          • New court
            • Profile of Justice O'Connor
            • First registration of an industrial organisation
          • Judges & conciliators
          • The Boilermakers' Case
            • The dispute & appeals
        • Commission
          • Post Boilermakers 1956-1973
          • Hawke & Keating governments
            • Industrial Relations Court
          • Howard Government
        • Fair Work Australia
          • The Fair Work system
          • About Fair Work Australia
          • Transition
          • Fair Work timeline
      • The history of the Australian minimum wage
        • The Great Strikes
        • The first minimum wage: The Victorian minimum wage
        • The Harvester Decision
        • The impact of the Great Depression
        • Working it out: Cost of living versus capacity to pay
        • The removal of award rate discrimination
        • The wage explosion & economic crisis
        • The modern era: The development of a modern minimum wage
      • Treasures of the archives
        • Launch speech?Treasures of the Archives
        • 1. Professor Isaac
        • 2. Register of organisations
        • 3. Perlman letters
        • 4. Sir Richard Kirby photograph
        • 5. Oral history program
        • 6. AIRC sign
        • 7. Folder of wage decisions
        • 8. Centenary exhibition
        • 9. Women's exhibition poster
        • 10. Isaac letters
    • The modern era
    • Past Presidents
    • Past Members
      • Past Members 1956 to present
      • Past Members to 1956
  • Unfair dismissals benchbook
    • Overview of unfair dismissal
    • Glossary & naming conventions
    • Coverage for unfair dismissal
      • Who is protected from unfair dismissal?
      • People excluded from national unfair dismissal laws
        • Independent contractors
        • Labour hire workers
        • Vocational placements & volunteers
        • Public sector employment
      • Constitutional corporations
      • High income threshold
      • Modern award coverage
      • Application of an enterprise agreement
      • What is the minimum period of employment?
        • How do you calculate the minimum period of employment?
        • What is continuous service?
        • What is an excluded period?
      • Bankruptcy
      • Insolvency
    • What is dismissal?
      • When does a dismissal take effect?
      • Terminated at the employer's initiative
      • Forced resignation
      • Demotion
      • Contract for a specified period of time
      • Contract for a specified task
      • Contract for a specified season
      • Training arrangement
      • What is a transfer of employment?
      • Periods of service as a casual employee
      • What is a genuine redundancy?
        • Job no longer required – operational requirements
        • Consultation obligations
        • Redeployment
      • What is the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code?
    • What makes a dismissal unfair?
      • Valid reason relating to capacity or conduct
        • Capacity
        • Conduct
      • Notification of reason for dismissal
      • Opportunity to respond
      • Unreasonable refusal of a support person
      • Warnings – unsatisfactory performance
      • Size of employer's enterprise and human resources specialists
      • Other relevant matters
    • Making an application
      • Application fee
      • Timeframe for lodgment
      • Extension of time for lodging an application
      • Who is the employer?
      • Multiple actions
      • Discontinuing an application
    • Objecting to an application
    • Commission process
      • Conciliation
      • Hearings and conferences
      • Preparing for hearings and conferences
      • Representation by lawyers and paid agents
      • Rescheduling or adjourning matters
      • Bias
    • Remedies
      • Reinstatement
        • Order for reinstatement cannot be subject to conditions
        • Order to maintain continuity
        • Order to restore lost pay
      • Compensation
        • Calculating compensation
        • Mitigation
        • Remuneration
        • Other relevant matters
        • Compensation cap
        • Instalments
    • Dismissing an application
    • Evidence
    • Costs
      • Costs against representatives
      • Security for costs
    • Appeals
      • Staying decisions
    • Role of the Court
  • Waltzing Matilda and the Sunshine Harvester Factory
    • Introduction
    • The book
      • Book launch
    • The film
      • Film launch
    • Historical material
      • 38 Hour Week Wage Principle [1983]
      • 40 Hour Week Case [1947]
      • 44 Hour Week Case [1927]
      • Apprenticeship indentures
      • Australian Minimum Wage and fitter (trades) rate since 1906
      • Boot Trades Case
      • Careers in Bootmaking and Boot Repairing
      • Cattle Industry Case 1966
      • Commercial Printing Case [1936]
      • Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904
      • Cost of living newspaper articles from the early 1900s
      • Debates
      • Equal Pay Case 1969
      • Equal Pay Case 1972
      • Fruit Pickers Case
      • Gas Employees Case
      • Graph of Australian Minimum Wage since 1906
      • Harvester Case
      • Historic case judgments on the Fair Work Commission's website
      • Kingston's evidence
      • Linesmen's Case
      • Maternity Leave Case [1979]
      • Metal trades base level minimum wages [1967–2015]
      • Methods of wage adjustment
        • Establishing an Australian Minimum Wage 1907?1922
          • The origins of the Australian minimum wage
          • The 'needs' principle and 'capacity to pay'
          • Women's wages
          • First indexation decision
        • Quarterly indexation 1922–1953
        • The Great Depression 1931
        • Prosperity loadings 1937
        • World War II 1939–1945
        • The post-war period: 1953–1965 basic wage inquiries
        • The total wage 1966–1967
        • Removal of discrimination in award rates
        • Reintroduction of quarterly wage indexation 1975–1978
        • Six monthly wage indexation 1978–1981
        • Wage explosion 1981–1982
        • Reforming awards and work and management practices 1987–1991
        • Six monthly wage indexation 1983–1987
        • Enterprise bargaining and a minimum wage safety net 1991–1996
        • Statutory adjustments
        • The minimum wage in real terms
      • Mrs Beeton's cookbook
      • Paternity Leave Case [1990]
      • Personal/Carer's Leave Test Case [1995]
      • Piddington report
      • Re Bagshaw [1907]
      • Significant cases on the Fair Work Commission's website
      • Statistics for the purpose of comparison with the Australian minimum wage
      • The Amalgamated Society of Engineers v. The Adelaide Steam-ship Company Limited and Others
      • The Australian minimum wage from 1906
      • The Federated Marine Stewards and Pantrymen's Association v. The Commonwealth Steamship Owners' Association and Others
      • The Victorian minimum wage 1896
        • Legislative Council Second Reading Speech to the Factories and Shops Bill 1896
      • The first Award: 1906 Steam-ship Crew
      • 100 years of the minimum wage—Statistical comparison
    • US, UK and Australian minimum wage systems
    • Mrs Beeton's cookbook
    • Glossary
    • Related sites
    • Educational materials
  • AWRS First Findings report

Footer

  • Site map
  • Legal
  • Copyright
  • Accessibility

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information