Unfair Dismissal Claim: How to Lodge One in Australia (You Have 21 Days)

You’ve been dismissed and you’re searching “unfair dismissal claim” or “unfair dismissal how to”. Stop and read the first line carefully: you have 21 calendar days from the date your dismissal took effect to lodge with the Fair Work Commission. Late applications are almost never accepted. Everything else in this guide is secondary to that deadline.

Who can make an unfair dismissal claim

Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), you can apply if:

• You worked for the employer for at least 6 months (12 months if they had fewer than 15 employees).
• You were covered by a modern award or enterprise agreement, or earned under the high-income threshold ($190,100 from 1 July 2026, indexed each July).
• Your employment was terminated at the employer’s initiative, or you resigned because you were forced to (constructive dismissal).
• The dismissal was not a genuine redundancy and not compliant with the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code (if the employer is a small business).

Casuals with regular, systematic hours and a reasonable expectation of ongoing work can also apply.

What “unfair” means legally

The Commission asks whether the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable (section 387). It looks at whether there was a valid reason related to your capacity or conduct, whether you were told the reason, whether you were given a chance to respond, whether you were unreasonably refused a support person, whether you had been warned about performance, and the size and HR resources of the employer. A dismissal can be unfair even when the reason was valid, if the process was unfair.

How to lodge

1. Complete Form F2, Unfair Dismissal Application.
2. Pay the application fee ($92.70 from 1 July 2026; you can ask for a waiver if paying it would cause serious financial hardship).
3. Lodge online through the Fair Work Commission within 21 days.
4. The employer files a Form F3 response. A conciliation conference is scheduled, usually by phone, within a few weeks.
5. If not, the matter proceeds to a hearing.

Why the F2 wording matters

The F2 is not a form you just tick. The section where you explain why the dismissal was unfair is what the conciliator and the employer’s lawyer read first. Applications that ramble, vent, or miss the section 387 factors get lowballed at conciliation. Applications that set out the facts, address each statutory factor and quantify the remedy are easier for the Commission and the employer to take seriously.

What to do in the next 48 hours

• Write down the date your dismissal took effect and count 21 days forward. That is your deadline.
• Request your termination letter, contract, any warnings and your payslips in writing. Your employer must give you a written statement of the reasons.
• Write a dated timeline of everything that happened in the lead-up: meetings, warnings (or the lack of them), who was present, what was said.
• Save every email, message and document you legitimately have access to. Do not take confidential company material.
• Check whether the employer had fewer than 15 employees; the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code changes the test.
• Lodge. You can amend the application later, but you cannot lodge late.

Remedies

Reinstatement is the primary remedy, but compensation is far more common: up to 26 weeks’ pay, capped at half the high-income threshold.

DIY vs Claim Done vs lawyer

The clock is running. Get your unfair dismissal application drafted for $49. Done in about 5 minutes. You approve it before it is sent.

Related guides: who can claim unfair dismissal, what happens at the Fair Work conciliation, reinstatement and compensation and when a redundancy can be unfair.