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Unfair dismissal: your rights and the 21-day clock

If you have lost your job, you may be able to apply to the Fair Work Commission for an unfair dismissal remedy, but the deadline is short. This guide explains who is covered, how the deadline works, and what a claim can realistically achieve. Use the free check below to see how the rules apply to your situation; a partner-firm solicitor then reviews your answers.

Deadline to lodge

21 days from the dismissal (Fair Work Commission)

Minimum service

6 months, or 12 months at a small business (under 15 staff)

Compensation cap

The lesser of 6 months' pay or half the high income threshold (about A$190,100/yr as at 1 July 2026)

Application fee

A$92.70 (a hardship waiver is available)

Strict 21-day time limit

An unfair dismissal application must be lodged with the Fair Work Commission within 21 days of the date your dismissal took effect. The Commission can extend this only in limited, exceptional circumstances, so do not delay.

What the rules look at

General information about the criteria for an unfair dismissal claim under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The check below shows how these rules apply to your answers.

You were an employee

The unfair dismissal rules generally cover employees, not independent contractors.

Lodged within 21 days

An application must reach the Fair Work Commission within 21 days of the dismissal taking effect, except in limited circumstances.

Minimum employment period met

Generally 6 months, or 12 months if the employer is a small business (under 15 staff).

Award, agreement or under the income threshold

If not covered by an award or agreement, earnings generally must be under the high-income threshold (about A$190,100/yr).

Not a genuine redundancy

A genuine redundancy is not an unfair dismissal, though whether one is genuine is often contested.

Covered by the national system

Most Australian employees use the federal Fair Work system. In WA, employees of an unincorporated employer (not a company) are usually in the WA state system instead, with a different tribunal and a 28-day limit.

Check how the rules apply to you

About two minutes. Your answers stay on this device until you submit.

This sets which system and tribunal apply to your dismissal.

Fewer than 15 employees = small business

Preliminary eligibility information only, general information and not legal advice. A NewLaw.ai partner-firm solicitor reviews every check before any advice is given.

What 'unfair dismissal' means

A dismissal is unfair if the Fair Work Commission finds it was harsh, unjust or unreasonable, and it was not a genuine redundancy and not consistent with the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code. The Commission looks at whether there was a valid reason, whether you were told about it and given a chance to respond, and whether the process was fair.

Unfair dismissal is about the fairness of the sacking itself. If you were punished for exercising a workplace right (for example, making a complaint about your pay), that is a different claim, called general protections, and it can run on a different set of rules.

Who can claim

To be eligible you generally need to be a national-system employee (not an independent contractor) who has served a minimum employment period, and you must either be covered by a modern award or enterprise agreement, or earn under the high income threshold.

  • Minimum employment period: 6 months, or 12 months if the employer is a small business with fewer than 15 employees.
  • High income threshold: if you are not covered by an award or agreement and earn over about A$190,100/yr (as at 1 July 2026), you are generally excluded.
  • Casual employees are usually only covered if the work was regular and systematic with a reasonable expectation of continuing employment.
  • In Western Australia, employees of an unincorporated employer (a sole trader or partnership, not a company) are usually in the WA state system instead, with a 28-day limit and a different tribunal (the WAIRC).

The 21-day deadline

An unfair dismissal application must reach the Fair Work Commission within 21 days after the dismissal took effect (section 394 of the Fair Work Act). This is one of the shortest deadlines in Australian law, and it runs from the day the dismissal took effect, not the day you were told.

The Commission can accept a late application only in limited, exceptional circumstances, and those extensions are rarely granted. The safest course is to treat the deadline as immovable and get your situation reviewed well before it.

What a claim can achieve

The primary remedy in theory is reinstatement (getting your job back), but in practice it is ordered rarely. The more common outcome is compensation for lost earnings.

Compensation is capped at the lesser of six months of your pay or half the high income threshold (section 392). With the threshold at about A$190,100/yr, that upper cap is about half of it. Importantly, unfair dismissal compensation cannot include any amount for shock, distress or humiliation caused by the manner of the dismissal.

From practice

What really happens: conciliation and settlement

Most unfair dismissal matters never reach a contested hearing. After you lodge, the Commission lists a conciliation, usually a private telephone conference run by an independent conciliator. It is voluntary and held on a without-prejudice basis, which means what is said there cannot generally be used later if the matter does not settle.

The large majority of matters resolve at or soon after that conciliation. A settlement is rarely just a cheque. Common terms include a payment, an agreed statement of service or reference, a mutual non-disparagement clause, withdrawal of the application, and a deed of release that ends the dispute on both sides. Understanding what a realistic settlement looks like, and what a deed of release signs away, is where a solicitor adds the most value early.

From practice

Costs: a 'no costs' jurisdiction

Unfair dismissal in the Fair Work Commission is largely a 'no costs' jurisdiction: each side normally pays its own legal costs whatever the outcome (section 611). The Commission can order costs only in limited situations, for example where a party caused costs by an unreasonable act or omission, or ran a claim with no reasonable prospects of success.

That matters strategically. The downside risk of running an unfair dismissal claim is usually contained, which is one reason it can be a faster, lower-risk path than a court case. It is a key difference from general protections matters that proceed to court, where a costs order against the losing side is a real possibility.

From practice

Unfair dismissal or general protections? You usually have to choose

If you were dismissed, you generally cannot run both an unfair dismissal claim and a general protections (dismissal) claim for the same dismissal. The Fair Work Act's multiple-actions rule (sections 725 to 732) forces an election: you pick one path.

Both share the same 21-day deadline, so the choice has to be made quickly and carefully. Unfair dismissal is typically quicker and cheaper, with capped compensation and limited costs risk. General protections can offer uncapped compensation and civil penalties, but it is usually slower, more complex, and carries a costs risk if it goes to court. Which one fits depends on the facts, so this is exactly the kind of decision to take to a solicitor inside the 21 days.

If you worked in Western Australia

WA is the one state that did not refer its full private-sector industrial relations powers to the Commonwealth. If your employer is not a company (no Pty Ltd or Ltd in its name) and not a government body, you may be a WA state-system employee. Your unfair dismissal claim would then go to the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission under the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA), with a 28-day time limit, not the federal Fair Work Commission and its 21-day limit.

Whether an employer is a 'national system' employer turns on a fact-specific test, so the check below flags the WA position and routes you to a solicitor rather than guessing.

Figures are general information current as at 1 July 2026. The Fair Work Commission re-indexes the application fee and the high income threshold each 1 July: the application fee rises to A$92.70 from 1 July 2026, and the high income threshold for the new financial year is confirmed by the Commission on or just after 1 July.

Common questions

How long do I have to lodge an unfair dismissal claim?

In most cases 21 days from the date your dismissal took effect to lodge with the Fair Work Commission. Extensions are only granted in limited, exceptional circumstances, so the window is best treated as fixed.

How much does it cost to apply?

The Fair Work Commission application fee is A$92.70 (as at 1 July 2026), rising to A$92.70 from 1 July 2026. A waiver is available if paying it would cause serious financial hardship.

Can I be reinstated to my job?

Reinstatement is the primary remedy in the legislation, but in practice it is ordered rarely. Most matters resolve with compensation or other agreed terms at conciliation.

I am a casual. Am I covered?

Casual employees are generally only protected where the work was on a regular and systematic basis with a reasonable expectation of continuing employment. Irregular or ad hoc casual work is usually not covered.

Is this legal advice?

No. NewLaw.ai gives general information and a deterministic eligibility check, reviewed by an admitted Australian solicitor; it is not legal advice. For tailored help you are connected with a practising firm.

Related guides

This page is general information about how the law works, not legal advice, and it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. A NewLaw.ai partner-firm solicitor reviews every eligibility check before any advice is given.

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Unfair dismissal in Australia: eligibility and the 21-day deadline - NewLaw.ai