Work guides

Sacked unfairly? You have 21 days.

Updated 29 October 2026 · Australia · Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)

The short answer

21 daysfrom the day your dismissal took effect to lodge an application with the Fair Work Commission. The Commission accepts late applications only in exceptional circumstances. Details can usually be added after an application is lodged.

You can claim unfair dismissal if you were an employee, you had worked there long enough, and you were either covered by an award or agreement or earned under the income threshold. The Commission then asks whether the sacking was harsh, unjust or unreasonable. If it was, the Act makes getting your job back the first remedy; the Commission can order compensation instead if it decides reinstatement is inappropriate, and that compensation is capped.

Who can claim

You are protected from unfair dismissal if all of these are true:

  • You were an employee, not a contractor.
  • You had served the minimum period: 6 months, or 12 months if your employer had fewer than 15 employees. When counting the 15, you count yourself and anyone else being let go at the same time, employees of related companies count together, and casuals count only if they work regularly.
  • An award or enterprise agreement covered you, or you earned less than the high income threshold. For dismissals on or after 1 July 2026 the threshold is $190,100 a year. Not everything you receive counts toward it; the Commission's guidance explains what is in and out.

Time as a casual counts toward the minimum period only if you worked on a regular and systematic basis and reasonably expected that to continue.

"Dismissed" has a specific meaning. It covers being sacked at your employer's initiative, and also resigning because your employer's conduct forced you to. It does not cover a fixed-term contract simply reaching its end date, unless the contract was set up that way to avoid these rules.

What makes a dismissal unfair

The Commission has to be satisfied that the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable. It must weigh:

  • whether there was a valid reason related to your capacity or conduct;
  • whether you were told the reason, and given a chance to respond;
  • whether your employer unreasonably refused to let you bring a support person to discussions about the dismissal;
  • if it was about performance, whether you were warned first;
  • how the size of the business, and whether it had any HR people, affected the way it was done;
  • anything else it considers relevant.

Two things knock a claim out regardless. A genuine redundancy is not an unfair dismissal (see redundancy pay for when a redundancy is not genuine). And if your employer had fewer than 15 employees and followed the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code, the dismissal is not unfair. In broad terms the Code lets a small business sack someone on the spot for conduct it reasonably believes is serious enough, and otherwise expects a warning and a fair chance to improve.

What you can get

The Commission's first remedy is reinstatement. It can order compensation only if it decides reinstatement is inappropriate. Compensation:

  • is capped at the lower of 26 weeks' pay or half the high income threshold, which is $95,050 for dismissals on or after 1 July 2026;
  • cannot include anything for shock, distress or humiliation;
  • is reduced if your own misconduct contributed to the decision, and takes into account what you have earned since and what you did to find other work.

If what you want is money for how the sacking made you feel, or the reason for the sacking was itself unlawful, read general protections before you lodge anything.

How a claim works

  • Lodge Form F2 with the Fair Work Commission within 21 days. The fee is $92.70 from 1 July 2026. If paying it would cause serious financial hardship, ask for it to be waived (Form F80) when you lodge.
  • Your employer responds, and the Commission usually starts with a conciliation conference to see whether the two of you can settle.
  • If it does not settle, it goes to a conference or hearing before a Commission member, who decides.

Pick one. For the same dismissal you cannot bring both an unfair dismissal claim and a general protections claim. The choice is made when you lodge.

Using AI to prepare your case? From 20 October 2026 the Commission requires anyone who uses generative AI to prepare a document for a case to say so in the document and explain how it was used, to check that every fact, case and law referred to is correct and real, and to state in the document that they have checked it. Witness statements must be in your own words and true to your own knowledge. That includes using Atuny. The Commission also warns against putting other people's personal information into public AI tools.

Free help

  • Workplace Advice Service, run by the Fair Work Commission: up to an hour of free legal advice, if an appointment is available, for people without a lawyer or paid agent who are not union members.
  • Your union, if you are a member.
  • Community legal centres and Legal Aid in your state.

Getting advice does not stop the 21-day clock. Lodging does.

What the law says

  • s 382 who is protected from unfair dismissal
  • ss 383, 384, 23 minimum employment period, casual service, the 15-employee count
  • s 386 what counts as being dismissed, including forced resignation
  • ss 385, 387 what makes a dismissal unfair and what the Commission must consider
  • ss 388, 389 the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code and genuine redundancy
  • ss 390, 392 reinstatement first, compensation and its cap
  • s 394 the 21-day deadline and late applications
  • s 725 no doubling up with other dismissal claims

All sections are of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The $190,100 threshold, $95,050 cap and $92.70 fee are the Fair Work Commission's figures from 1 July 2026; the AI requirements are in its guidance note on generative AI in Commission cases.

The law for matters like yours

This page is the law in general. Ask Atuny about the law for matters like yours in plain English and the short answer is free. It reads the Act, not a forum thread.

Ask a free question
Sacked for complaining, being sick or pregnantIt is unlawful to sack you for asserting your rights, for a protected attribute or for a short illness. No minimum service, no income cap, and the employer has to prove its reason.How much notice your employer owes youThe minimum notice table, the extra week for over-45s, pay in lieu of notice, who misses out, and what you owe when you resign.Made redundant. What you are owedThe redundancy pay table from 4 to 16 weeks, what counts as a genuine redundancy, the small business and short-service exclusions, and what to check before you sign.Your final pay, and when it is dueWhat has to be in your last pay (wages, unused annual leave and loading, notice, redundancy), what is not paid out, and the deadlines.

Who this covers. This guide is about people in the national workplace system, which is most people working in the private sector in Australia. Depending on your state, if you work for a state government department or a council, or in Western Australia for a sole trader, partnership or some trusts, state laws may apply instead, although some federal protections, such as unlawful termination, still cover you. The Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) can tell you which system you are in.

This is general information about the law, not advice about your situation. It was checked against the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) as compiled on 7 July 2026 and the Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman figures for 2026-27. Atuny is not a law firm.