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Making an application
Table of contents
Introduction
See Fair Work Act s.789FC
A worker who reasonably believes that he or she has been bullied at work may apply to the Fair Work Commission for an order to stop bullying.
An application for an order to stop bullying made to the Commission must include a completed and signed application form (Form F72).
There is no timeframe for a worker lodging an application for an order to stop bullying.
Application fee
An anti-bullying application must be accompanied by payment of the prescribed fee (or an application to waive the prescribed fee)[1]. Failure to pay the filing fee or apply for a waiver at the time of making the application, may result in the Commission finding that the application has not been validly made.[2]
Making an application to the Commission for an order to stop bullying is a workplace right protected under the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Fair Work Act).
Link to application form
All forms are available on the Forms page of the Commission's website.
Link to waiver form
All forms are available on the Forms page of the Commission's website.
Behaviour which occurred before 1 January 2014
Workplace bullying behaviour which took place before the commencement of Part 6-4B of the Fair Work Act on 1 January 2014 can be taken into consideration by the Commission. The anti-bullying provisions of the Fair Work Act envisage 'future action on past events', and cannot properly be characterised as retrospective. Applicants can rely upon pre 1 January 2014 conduct but need to demonstrate future risk.[3]
What is a reasonable belief?
An applicant under s.789FC must not only be a worker but must be one who ‘reasonably believes that he or she has been bullied at work’. The expression ‘reasonable belief’ and similar expressions are utilised in a wide variety of contexts by the statutory and common law. It is clear from cases decided in those differing contexts that not only must the requisite belief actually and genuinely be held by the relevant person, but in addition the belief must be reasonable in the sense that, objectively speaking, there must be something to support it or some other rational basis for the holding of the belief and it is not irrational or absurd.[4]
References
[1] Fair Work Act s.789FC(4).
[2] Druett v State Rail Authority of NSW & Ors [2007] AIRC 805 (Lawler VP, 19 September 2007) and Atanaskovic Hartnell Corporate Services Pty Ltd t/a Atanaskovic Hartnell v Kelly [2017] FWCFB 763 (Hatcher VP, Sams DP, Hunt C, 15 February 2015)
[3] Re Ms K McInnes [2014] FWCFB 1440 (Ross J, Hatcher VP, Hampton C, 6 March 2014).
[4] Amie Mac v Bank of Queensland Limited and Others [2015] FWC 774 (Hatcher VP, 13 February 2015) at para. 79.
Updated time
Last updated
06 April 2018
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