Fair Work Act 2009

s.365 - Application to deal with contraventions involving dismissal

Application to deal with contraventions involving dismissal - Applicant failed to participate - no dispute before the Commission - absence of jurisdiction - application dismissed

• [1] Once the parties to a general protections dispute have settled their dispute, the Commission no longer has jurisdiction to deal with it.[1] Similarly, if there is no dispute before the Commission, the Commission lacks jurisdiction.

• [2] The Commission is authorised to dismiss an application where it lacks jurisdiction.[2]

• [3] For the reasons below I have decided there is no dispute before the Commission, and that the Commission lacks jurisdiction to proceed under section 368 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ('the Fair Work Act').

• [4] On 22 May 2025, Ms Tarmika Williams ("the Applicant") applied to the Commission pursuant to section 365 of the Fair Work Act to deal with a general protections dispute.

• [5] The Respondent filed an Employer Response on 6 June 2025.

• [6] The matter was listed for conciliation conference on 10 July 2025.

• [7] The Applicant failed to attend the conciliation conference, without notifying the Commission in advance of her non-attendance.

• [8] My chambers attempted to contact the Applicant by telephone at the time of the conference. She could not be reached by telephone at that time.

• [9] My chambers then wrote to the applicant on 10 July 2025 seeking an explanation for her non-compliance and warning her that her application may be dismissed if she failed to respond and the Commission formed the view there was no dispute before it.
• [10] The Applicant did not respond to my chambers' correspondence of 10 July 2025.

• [11] In the circumstances, including the absence of any communication from the Applicant at or since the time of the conference, there is no basis to consider that the parties are, or remain, in dispute. Accordingly, the Commission does not have jurisdiction to deal with the application pursuant to section 368 of the Fair Work Act.

[1] Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s 368; Marie Vic Dawson v Centre for Digestive Diseases Pty Ltd [2025] FWCFB 50, [33].

[2] Marie Vic Dawson v Centre for Digestive Diseases Pty Ltd [2025] FWCFB 50, [35].

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