[2025] FWC 3069
General information, not legal advice.
Fair Work Commission
2025-10-22
Original judgment source is linked above.
s.365 - General protections
Application to deal with contraventions involving dismissal
(a) The Applicant filed an Outline of Submissions and a Witness Statement of the Applicant with Annexures, dated 12 September 2025; and
(b) The Respondent filed Witness Statements of Ms Leanne Doan and Mr Zdenko Martin dated 22 September 2025, with multiple Annexures. Ms Doan and Mr Martin are the owners of the Respondent.
"This Agreement is made the 23 May 2023 between Rumble Bxing Bondi Pty Ltd ABN: of [Address] ("the Engager") AND Matt Bull ABN: of [ADDRESS] ("the Independent Contractor")
(b) Clause 2 "Appointment of Independent Contractor" provided:
2.1. The Engager appoints the Independent Contractor to provide the Services to the Engager for the Term, as set out in the Schedule to the Agreement.
2.2. The Independent Contractor agrees to provide the Services as outlined in the Schedule to the Agreement.
2.3. This Agreement may only be renewed or the Term extended if agreed by the parties.
(c) Clause 3 "Relationship of the Parties to the Agreement" provided:
3.1. Nothing contained in this Agreement will be deemed to create any partnership or joint venture or relationship of agent or employer and employee between the Engager or any Group Company and the Independent Contractor. It is the express intention of the parties that the Independent Contractor is in all respects an Independent Contractor and no other relationship or authority will be inferred or implied.
3.2. The Independent Contractor has no authority to incur any obligations on behalf of the Engager or any Group Company without the written authority of the Engager or Group Company.
(d) Clause 4 "Responsibilities" provided in part:
(a) must carry out the Services in a conscientious, professional, competent and
expeditious manner and in accordance with all appropriate standards applicable to
(b) will provide the Services in a manner reasonably required by the Engager;
(c) warrants that the Independent Contractor and any person employed or engaged by
the Independent Contractor to perform the Services has the necessary knowledge,
skill, experience and ability to provide the Services and will promptly advise the
Engager if this does not continue to be the case;
(e) will at all times observe all of the Engager's policies and procedures which the
Engager requires the Independent Contractor to adhere to (as may be varied from
time to time), provided that these policies and procedures do not form any part of this
5.1. The Independent Contractor must submit a report monthly.
5.2. The report must be submitted to an officer appointed by the Engager in a form and
containing information as required by the Engager.
The Independent Contractor must provide a valid tax invoice to the Engager on a weekly
basis. In consideration for the provision of the Services, the Engager agrees to pay the
Independent Contractor any Invoice Payment within 14 days of receipt of a valid tax invoice in accordance with the Schedule of Rates below.
7.1. Where required by law, the Engager will pay GST in relation to the Services at the rate of tax applicable at the time of supply subject to the receipt of a valid tax invoice. The Independent Contractor is required to add the correct amount of GST to its invoice(s) in accordance with the Schedule.
7.2. The payment of GST to the Australian Taxation Office with respect to the Services will be the sole and absolute responsibility of the Independent Contractor.
9.1. The Independent Contractor shall be responsible for providing any Facilities that are necessary or required in the safe, accurate and timely performance of the Services at the cost of the Independent Contractor.
9.2. The Engager will not provide the Facilities to the Independent Contractor in the provision of the Services, unless otherwise agreed between the Parties.
9.3. Where the Engager agrees to provide Facilities to assist the Independent Contractor in the provision of the Services, this is done for convenience only and does not in any way affect the contracting relationship between the parties.
14.1. The Independent Contractor is responsible for all taxes and levies relating to, or in
connection with, the provision of the Services by the Independent Contractor to the
Engager, including but not limited to any income taxation payments, GST payments or
superannuation payments required under the relevant legislation.
(j) The Termination provision at Clause 19 provided in part:
19.1. This Agreement terminates on expiry of the Term, without the need for notice by either party.
19.2. This Agreement may be terminated during the Term;
(a) by either party immediately by giving writing in notice to the other party if at any time the other party fails to remedy any breach of this Agreement or default within 7 days;
(b) by either party at any time by giving 14 days notice in writing to the other party; or
(c) immediately, by the Engager providing no notice to the Independent Contractor
(i) requiring the Applicant to pay all insurances including workers compensation, public liability insurance for not less than $20,000,000.00, and professional indemnity insurance for not less than $10,000,000.00;
(ii) imposing post employment restraints on the Applicant.
TERM: The Term of this Agreement shall be from 4 April 2023 ("Commencement Date")
until completion of the Services until 8 April 2024 ("the Expiry Date").
SERVICES The services the Independent Contractor is required to perform are:
27.15. In consideration of the Services provided, the Engager agrees to pay the Independent Contractor the Payment specified in the Schedule of Rates table attached. (sic.)
This handbook applies to all employees of Rumble Boxing ("the Company") including managers and supervisors; temporary and permanent employees (whether full-time, part-time or casual); student placements, apprentices, contractors, sub-contractors and volunteers, collectively referred to in this policy as 'employees'.
The policies contained within this handbook are not limited to the workplace or work hours. These policies extend to all functions and places that are work related. For example, work conferences, work events and parties, work-related social media platforms and social media, and client functions.
This handbook does not form part of any contract of employment or contract for service with the Company.
As of July 10, 2025 your employment at Rumble Boxing Bondi Beach as been terminated effective immediately
Your last day at Rumble was July 5 and your final pay was July 8th. If this is incorrect, please let us know
We want to thank you for the 2 years you've been at Rumble.
Your contribution has been invaluable and there is no denying that
Please let us know if you would like to arrange a farewell with the Rumble community or team.
Good Morning Team, it is with a lot of sadness but not without a lot of careful consideration; we have terminated Matt Bull's employment with us at Rumble. We naturally want and hope for an amicable exit and hope to find a way to do that for Matt, the team and the community who have grown so fond of him.
His contributions and commitment over the years has been invaluable and cannot be disputed at all.
And while the decision was made, it wasn't done so lightly and we know the impact it may have on the business overall, and despite those strong factors, the decision was made based on the long term needs of us as business, how we operate and conduct ourselves and the success of the team and each individual that makes up this team.
Application for the FWC to deal with a dismissal dispute
(b) the person, or an industrial association that is entitled to represent the industrial interests of the person, alleges that the person was dismissed in contravention of this Part; the person, or the industrial association_, may apply to the FWC for the FWC to deal with the dispute._
(a) the person's employment with his or her employer has been terminated on the employer_'s initiative; or_
(b) the person has resigned from his or her employment, but was forced to do so because of conduct_, or a course of_ conduct_, engaged in by his or her_ employer_._
In Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Barker, French CJ, Bell and Keane JJ said:
"The employment relationship, in Australia, operates within a legal framework defined by statute and by common law principles, informing the construction and content of the contract of employment."
An employment relationship will not always be defined exclusively by a contract between the parties. Historically, the employment relationship was recognised and regulated by the law before the law of contract came to govern the relationship. An employment relationship, though principally based in contract, may be affected by statutory provisions and by awards made under statutes.
15AA Determining the ordinary meanings of employee and employer
(1) For the purposes of this Act, whether an individual is an employee of a person within
the ordinary meaning of that expression, or whether a person is an employer of an
individual within the ordinary meaning of that expression, is to be determined by
ascertaining the real substance, practical reality and true nature of the relationship
(2) For the purposes of ascertaining the real substance, practical reality and true nature
of the relationship between the individual and the person:
(a) the totality of the relationship between the individual and the person must be
(b) in considering the totality of the relationship between the individual and the
person, regard must be had not only to the terms of the contract governing the
relationship, but also to other factors relating to the totality of the relationship
including, but not limited to, how the contract is performed in practice.
Note: This section was enacted as a response to the decisions of the High Court of
Australia in CFMMEU v Personnel Contracting Pty Ltd [2022] HCA 1 and ZG
Operations Australia Pty Ltd v Jamsek [2022] HCA 2.
is an employee or independent contractor, the Commission is required to ascertain the real
substance, practical reality and true nature of the relationship between the parties. This adopts
It should be added that the relationship between the parties, for the purposes of this litigation, is to be found not merely from these contractual terms. The system which was operated thereunder and the work practices imposed by Vabu go to establishing "the totality of the relationship" between the parties; it is this which is to be considered.
The multifactorial test was summarised by a Full Bench of the Commission in Jiang Shen Cai trading as French Accent v Do Rozario[21] (Jiang Shen), wherein the Full Bench described the focus of the enquiry in Hollis as whether the person carries on a trade or business of his or her own or is working in the business of another, the nature of the work performed and the manner of its performance, and the terms of the contract between the parties. Various indicia may be considered. They include the actual exercise, or the right to exercise, control over the putative employee, whether the worker performs work for others, whether they provide tools and equipment, whether the work can be delegated, whether the worker is remunerated by periodic wages or salary or by reference to completion of tasks, and whether the worker is presented to the world at large as an emanation of the putative employer's business.
(a) The Applicant did not submit a monthly report (Clause 5.1);
(b) But for the first few months of the engagement, the Applicant did not submit a tax invoice on a weekly basis (Clause 6); and
(c) The Applicant did not arrange insurance with respect to workers compensation, public liability insurance or professional indemnity insurance (Clauses 11.1, 12.1 and 13.1).
(a) The Applicant was required to sign the Respondent's Employee Handbook that stated all employees must adhere to the Code that included provisions to manage performance, conduct and, amongst other things, the use of social media during or outside work hours;
(b) The Applicant worked in accordance with a roster which was prepared and finalised by the Respondent. The Applicant was not able to set his own times for classes;
(c) The Applicant was paid a fixed per class rate for each class he conducted. The Applicant did not set his own rates or terms of engagement;
(d) Should the Applicant be unable to attend a class, he was not able to provide a replacement of his choosing, without approval from the Respondent;
(e) Ultimate authority over the Applicant in his performance of work resided with the Respondent; and
(f) The Respondent provided the workplace, equipment, booking system music and clients, the Applicant solely provided his labour.
You've got in your statement that Mr Bull bore an entrepreneurial responsibility. Can you tell the tribunal what that is? --- As all independent contractors have their own businesses, that bears its inherent risks. You are choosing to not work at a place at a 9 to 5 where you're getting minimum wage. You take on the risk of needing to find work. That is risk. If you are going to be your own business, that is entrepreneurial risk, and every independent contractor at our studio has made that decision.
"Simply expressed, the question of whether a person is an independent contractor in relation to the performance of particular work may be posed and answered as follows:
(i) is the person performing the work as an entrepreneur who owns and operates a
(ii) in performing the work, is the person working in and for that person's business
as a representative of that business and not of the business receiving the work."
performed in practice. Those indicia included that the Applicant was responsible for his own taxes and insurances. In the overall balance, however, those indicia can be accorded little weight in determining the totality of the relationship.
You never had a discussion on 9 April 24 with Mr Bull to say, 'Your independent contract has expired, but it will continue on.' You never did that, did you? --- No, and look, I hear you, and there are a lot of things that we didn't enforce, and this is a small business, the first small business that my husband and I are running, and there are a lot of things that come with running a small business, learnings, and we lean heavily on our master franchisor to guide us to ensure best practices, and I think this was evidenced in setting up payroll. We did our best and what we knew how to do it and then they showed us the best approach, and part of this, while it's not excusable, is that, you know, you do these contracts, make sure you renew it, make sure you follow up, make sure you have all the liability insurance and enforce it. No, it wasn't documented and a contract wasn't renewed, or a verbal agreement, or a meeting was in place. He continued to teach and I'm sure on 9 April, he taught, and also he never came to us and said, 'Hey, this contract has expired, am I still working here, is our agreement and our arrangement the same?' Neither party came and had this conversation.

[11] Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Personnel Contracting [2022] HCA 1; (2022) 275 CLR 165 per Kiefel CJ, Keane and Edelman JJ at [33]-[34], [47], [61], per Gordon J at [174], [186]-[189].
[12] Coles Supply Chain Pty Ltd v. Milford [2020] FCAFC 152; (2020) 279 FCR 591 and see Lipa Pharmaceuticals v Jarouche [2023] FWCFB 101.
[14] At [40] and [41] per Kiefel CJ, Keane and Edelman JJ, footnotes omitted.
[23] Transcript PN 467, see also Ms Doan at PN 278.
[24] [2011] FCA 366; (2011) 214 FCR 82, at [208].
Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer
Matthew Bull
Rmbl Bxng Bondi Pty Ltd [2025] FWC 3069
(2022) 275 CLR 165
(2020) 279 FCR 591
(2022) 275 CLR 254
(1986) 160 CLR 16
(2001) 207 CLR 21
(1978) 52 ALJR 407
(2011) 214 FCR 82