Fair Work Commission

Lodging an application

You can lodge an application with the Fair Work Commission using our Online Lodgment Service or by downloading the relevant form and sending it to us at one of our Commission offices.

Note that if you send us your application by email it is not considered lodged until we send you an email acknowledging lodgment (see Rule 14 of the Fair Work Commission Rules 2013). If you haven’t received an acknowledgement email within 2 business days you should contact the Commission office where you sent your application.

When you lodge an application with the Commission you are commencing a legal process. Follow the links below for detailed information about the Commission's processes for dealing with:

• applications for unfair dismissal
• applications for bullying stop orders
• applications to deal with general protections disputes (including unlawful termination disputes)
• applications for single enterprise agreements
• applications to deal with disputes under awards
• applications to deal with disputes under agreements

For a comprehensive list of the different applications which can be made to the Commission, visit our Forms page.

Fees, refunds & other costs

Fees

Please note that a filing fee must be paid with the following types of applications:

• applications for unfair dismissal remedy
• applications for bullying stop orders
• applications for the Commission to deal with a general protections dispute
• applications for the Commission to deal with an unlawful termination dispute

The current application fee is $71.90.

This fee can be waived in cases of serious financial hardship. If you believe paying this fee may cause you serious financial hardship, you should complete a waiver form and send this in along with your application.

The Commission uses a secure payment portal to process credit card payments. You can make a credit card payment through our Online Lodgment Service, by telephone, or by requesting a payment link.

Refunds

Changes have been made to the Commission's refund process in order to streamline and ensure timely payment of refunds. Where an applicant is eligible for a lodgment fee refund, the credit card used will be refunded directly. Refunds to credit cards are usually processed within a week.

Where payment has been made in cash, by cheque, or with an expired credit card, a Reserve Bank cheque will be issued to refund the fee. Refunds by cheque are usually processed within six weeks.

Other costs

Parties to matters before the Commission must generally pay their own costs, however the Commission may order a person to pay some or all of the costs of another party to a matter if an application or response to it:

• was frivolous, vexatious or made without reasonable cause
• had no reasonable prospect of success, or
• in some matters, because of an unreasonable act or omission of the party.

In certain circumstances, the Commission may also order costs against a lawyer or paid agent representing a party in a matter.

Eligibility & timeframes for lodgment

Some applications which can be lodged with the Commission carry eligibility requirements. Follow the links below to see if you are eligible to lodge an:

• application for unfair dismissal remedy
• application for a bullying stop order
• application to deal with a general protections dispute (including an unlawful termination dispute)

If you would like the Commission to deal with a dispute involving dismissal, is important to note that your application must be lodged within 21 days of your dismissal taking effect.

If you lodge your application outside of the 21 day timeframe it will be scheduled for a hearing or conference so a Member of the Commission can make a decision about whether your late application can be accepted.

The Member will take into account:

• the reason for the delay in lodging your application
• when you became aware of the dismissal after it had taken effect
• any action taken by you to dispute the dismissal
• prejudice to your employer (including prejudice caused by the delay)
• the merits of your application
• fairness to other people in a similar situation to you.

Decisions relating to extension of time can be found on the Decisions by keyword page. For example, select 'Termination of employment' as the category and 'extension of time' as the keyword.

For information about timeframes associated with Enterprise agreement applications, you can use our Single enterprise agreement date calculator. 

Contact details under rules 9, 14 & 16