Unfair dismissal in Tasmania: two systems, one of them small
Tasmania runs two systems, but they are nothing like even. Almost every dismissed Tasmanian employee is in the national system and lodges at the Fair Work Commission.
The exception is narrow. Employees of the Tasmanian State Service go to the Tasmanian Industrial Commission instead.
Nearly everyone here is federal
Tasmania referred its private sector industrial relations powers to the Commonwealth from 2010, and that referral covered sole traders and partnerships as well as companies.
That matters more than it sounds. In Western Australia the first question is what kind of legal entity employed you. For private sector work in Tasmania the question has already been answered: incorporated or not, company or sole trader or partnership, your claim goes to the Fair Work Commission.
The ordinary federal rules then apply: 21 days to lodge, the minimum employment period, the longer version of that period for small business employers, the high income threshold of $190,100, and compensation capped at the lesser of 26 weeks' pay or $95,050.
Start with eligibility and what a claim can be worth.
Why Tasmania is not Western Australia
This is the contrast worth understanding, because material written for one state gets read in another.
In Western Australia an employee of a sole trader or an unincorporated partnership is in the state system, with a different commission and 28 days to lodge rather than 21. WA never referred those employers.
Tasmania did. So the WA problem, working for a business that turns out to sit outside the national system, is not your problem if you worked in the Tasmanian private sector. If you have been reading WA guidance because it came up first, set it aside.
When the Tasmanian Industrial Commission hears it instead
The state route is for employees of the Tasmanian State Service. If you are not certain your employer sits inside it, the Tasmanian Industrial Commission is the place to confirm that, not this page.
If that was your employer, the Fair Work Commission is the wrong place to lodge, and finding that out weeks later costs time you may not have.
Do not assume the federal numbers carry across
The state system runs on its own rules. Its deadline, the employees it excludes and any limit on what it can order are set separately from the federal ones, and nothing on this page was written for it.
If you are a State Service employee, check the current position with the Tasmanian Industrial Commission directly rather than relying on a figure you read anywhere else, including here. That one call is worth more than any summary.
If you are federal, the deadline is 21 days
You have 21 days from the day the dismissal took effect to lodge with the Fair Work Commission. Extensions are granted only in exceptional circumstances, and the Commission rarely grants them.
Where to go from here
If you worked in the Tasmanian private sector, which is most people reading this, the rest of this site applies to you directly.
- What unfair dismissal is and the test the Commission applies
- Whether you are eligible, including the deadline and the minimum employment period
- What a claim can be worth
- What happens after you lodge
- Unfair dismissal or general protections, if you were dismissed for a protected reason
- If you resigned under pressure rather than being sacked
Not sure which applies to you?
Tell us who you worked for and we will tell you which body your claim belongs in, and what your deadline actually is.
Most of our work is at the Fair Work Commission, which in Tasmania is where nearly every claim belongs. We can look at a State Service matter as well, though we take those case by case. Either way we will tell you plainly which system yours belongs in, and what your deadline is, before you decide anything.
Call 1800 UNFAIR (1800 863 247). The first call is free and there is no obligation. Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, weekends 9am to 5pm.