Fair Work Commission

To find out whether you may be eligible for a remedy under Unfair Dismissal provisions for a workplace termination, complete the Unfair Dismissal Application quiz.

An application must be lodged within 21 days of dismissal

It is criticial that you lodge an unfair dismissal application within 21 days of your dismissal becoming effective.

If you don't meet that deadline the Commission may not be allowed, by law, to deal with your application - unless it determines there are exceptional circumstances. These circumstances are limited by law; you can read more about these in the Unfair dismissals benchbook.

The 21 day deadline can be confusing – it relates to when your dimissal 'becomes effective', which is the day your employment actually finished:

• some people are dismissed and finish work on the same day, so their dismissal takes effect on that day
• some people are dismissed with a notice period – for example, 2 weeks - when they continue to work. For these people their dismissal does not become effective until the end of their notice period, when they finish working
• some people are not required to work out their notice period but receive payment instead of notice. For these people their dismissal takes effect on the day that they physically finish working at the place of employment.

Put simply, generally your dismissal becomes effective on the day you stop attending the place of employment (regardless of any notice period), and that is when the clock starts ticking on the 21 day deadline.