1. You must lodge within 21 days
Twenty-one days from the day the dismissal took effect, not the day you were told, and not the day your final pay landed.
Extensions are available only in exceptional circumstances.
2. You must have served the minimum employment period
- Six months with the employer, or
- Twelve months if the employer is a small business, meaning fewer than 15 employees counted on a headcount basis including certain casuals and associated entities.
Regular and systematic casual service with a reasonable expectation of continuing employment can count towards this period. Casual service that is genuinely irregular generally does not.
If you have not served the minimum period, you cannot bring an unfair dismissal claim. Some people in this position are told to bring a general protections claim instead. Read this before you do: Unfair dismissal vs general protections.
3. You must be under the high income threshold, or covered by an award or agreement
The high income threshold is $190,100 from 1 July 2026. It is indexed on 1 July each year. For dismissals that took effect on or before 30 June 2026, the threshold was $183,100.
If you earn at or above the threshold and no modern award covers you and no enterprise agreement applies to you, you cannot bring an unfair dismissal claim.
If an award covers you or an agreement applies to you, the threshold is irrelevant. You can claim regardless of what you earn. A great many people assume they are excluded when they are not.
Earnings for this purpose include wages, salary-sacrificed amounts, and the agreed value of non-monetary benefits. They generally exclude superannuation and reimbursements. Commissions and bonuses that cannot be determined in advance are usually excluded, which can put someone under the threshold who assumed they were over it.
4. Your dismissal must not be a genuine redundancy, and if you worked for a small business, must not have complied with the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code
See What is unfair dismissal for both.
Were you actually dismissed?
You were dismissed if the employer terminated your employment on its initiative, or if you resigned but were forced to do so because of the employer's conduct. The second is constructive dismissal, and it is harder to prove than most people expect.
Read: Constructive dismissal and forced resignation
Not sure? Call us.
1800 UNFAIR (1800 863 247). We will tell you whether you can lodge. If you cannot, we will tell you that too. The initial consultation is free, and there is no fee if the answer is no.