When must I lodge a Fair Work unfair dismissal application?

Apply to the Fair Work Commission within 21 calendar days after the dismissal took effect. Exclude that day. Check the final day in the place concerned and any exceptional-circumstances extension under section 394(3).

Responsible actor. Dismissed person seeking an unfair-dismissal remedy.

Establish when the dismissal took effect from the communication and employment facts. The date on a letter, the date notice was given and the last shift are not interchangeable.

A notice period can mean that employment ends after the notice is communicated. The calculator needs the established effective dismissal date.

Section 396 makes timeliness, protection from unfair dismissal, the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code and genuine redundancy preliminary questions before the merits.

Use this calculation only for an established dismissal and an application for an unfair-dismissal remedy under section 394. It does not decide coverage, minimum employment, genuine redundancy, the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code or whether dismissal was unfair.

1. Establish day the dismissal took effect.
2. Confirm the applicable procedure, the place concerned and any inconsistent direction.
3. Exclude the event day and count 21 calendar days.
4. Check the final day against the established place, including consecutive closures.
5. Complete the required lodgment and separate service steps; preserve their evidence.

Exclude the established trigger day. Count every following calendar day, including intermediate weekends and holidays. The period is not a count of business days.

If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday, public holiday or bank holiday in the place concerned, section 36 carries it to the first following day that is none of those days. Establish the place concerned. State calendars do not establish every local or conditional holiday. Unconfirmed places, conditional dates and unsupported years require review.

Fictitious example

Fictitious established event. Day the dismissal took effect is Monday, October 12, 2026. One established place concerned in Sydney, New South Wales, with local holidays confirmed and no contrary direction.

Fictitious established facts and confirmed place assumptions. These dates do not establish eligibility, effective dismissal or service, valid lodgment, an extension or a Commission direction.

Exceptional circumstances

Further time requires a Commission decision under section 394(3). Its factors include the reason for delay, later awareness, action disputing dismissal, employer prejudice, merits and fairness to people in a similar position. This tool does not grant or predict relief.

Eligibility and other claims

A calculated date does not establish protection from unfair dismissal. Section 394 also identifies the Part 6-1 restrictions where another dismissal application or complaint has been made.

Place and filing evidence

A holiday adjustment depends on the established place. A calculated day does not establish that the Commission received a compliant application.

• Use this calculation only for an established dismissal and an application for an unfair-dismissal remedy under section 394. It does not decide coverage, minimum employment, genuine redundancy, the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code or whether dismissal was unfair.
• An unfair-dismissal remedy under section 394 is distinct from a Part 3-1 dismissal dispute, the employer response and a later appeal. Equal 21-day labels do not establish equivalent procedures.

• Preserve the dismissal communication and the facts establishing its effective date.
• Check the section 396 preliminary issues and any other dismissal complaint.
• Use the approved unfair-dismissal application and check the applicable fee or waiver.
• Confirm the place and local holidays, then preserve submission and lodgment evidence.
• Check local legal time, the permitted filing channel and every Commission direction. Rule 15 permits physical delivery between 9 am and 5 pm on a business day. Email must comply with rule 16. A commencing email application requires acknowledgment, with lodgment then attributed to electronic receipt. Commencing applications through rule 17 facilities also require acknowledgment. Under MyFWC rule 17A, submission is timed by the confirmation email and a commencing application also needs acknowledgment of lodgment. Preserve the applicable receipt; a saved draft or posted envelope is not proof of timely lodgment.