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This topic covers
- General protections, certain workplace rights protected under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)
- Bullying and harassment in the workplaceÂ
- Unlawful discrimination at work
- Injury or illness at work
- Disciplinary action, including meetings and investigations, andÂ
- Other workplace​ issues, for example, workplace surveillance, drug and alcohol testing at work and damage to an employer's property.
This information is for national system employees - employees covered by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Most employees are national system employees, unless they work for a NSW government agency, Local Council or state government owned corporation.
This topic does not apply to state system employees - employees that work for a NSW government agency, Local Council or state government owned corporation, except where stated. For more information, see State system employees.
| Time limit | Action |
|---|---|
| General protections | |
| Six years | To apply for a general protections non-dismissal order in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia or Federal Court of Australia. |
| No time limit | To apply to the Fair Work Commission for a meeting to resolve a general protections dispute with your employer, unless your employment has been terminated and you are making a general protections dismissal application - in this situation a strict time limit applies. See the Termination topic. |
| Bullying and sexual harassment | |
| 24 months | To apply to the Fair Work Commission regarding a sexual harassment dispute. |
| No time limit | To apply to the Fair Work Commission for an anti-bullying order. However, such an order is preventative. It is advisable to apply while the bullying is still happening or shortly after. |
| 21 days | To apply for permission to appeal against the decision of a Member of the Fair Work Commission to the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission. |
| Six years | To apply to the Federal Court of Australia or Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for an order that a person pay a financial penalty for failing to comply with a stop bullying or sexual harassment order. |
| Discrimination at work | |
| 12 months | From each incident of discrimination to make a complaint to Anti-Discrimination NSW. |
| 12 months | To complain to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) about employment discrimination based on religion, criminal record, trade union activity, sexual preference, political opinion and social origin. |
| 24 months | To complain to the AHRC. Before 12 December 2022, the time limit was 6 months for any complaints other than unlawful sex discrimination and sexual harassment. |
| 60 days | To apply to the Federal Court of Australia or Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia after the AHRC issues a complaint termination notice. |
Organisations
| Organisation | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Anti-Discrimination NSW | Can deal with discrimination complaints made under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW). |
| Australian Human Rights Commission | Can deal with discrimination complaints made under Federal discrimination laws, including:
|
| Fair Work Commission | Has the power to:
|
| Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and Federal Court of Australia | Has the power to deal with general protection disputes. |
Legislation
| Authority | Covers |
|---|---|
| Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) | Applies to all employees unless they are employed by a NSW government agency, a Local Council or a NSW state government owned corporation. Employees that fall under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) are referred to as national system employees. |
| Work safety laws | There are several laws relating to health and safety in the workplace, including:
|
| Common term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Adverse action | Unlawful action taken by an employer against an employee because they have a workplace right or have used, or tried to use, a workplace right. It includes:​
|
| Award | A legal document that sets out the minimum wages and employment conditions for your industry or occupation. Most employees in Australia are covered by modern awards. |
| Bullying | Bullying is usually repeated unreasonable behaviour against a person that creates a risk to the employee's health and safety. It can be from a supervisor, manager or colleague. Examples include:
|
| ​Camera surveillance | ​Surveillance that tracks or records visual images on an employer's workplace or in any other place where the employee is at work. |
| ​Computer surveillance | ​Surveillance by software or other equipment that tracks or records how you use a computer. |
| Corporation | An organisation that has a separate legal entity from its members, such as a company or incorporated association. |
| Enterprise agreement | A single type of agreement between national system employers and employees that sets out minimum employment conditions. It has certain requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and can apply to one business or a group of businesses. When a workplace has a registered agreement, the award does not apply. |
| ​Federal jurisdiction problem | ​When the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal may not determine certain applications because the Constitution does not allow it. |
| General protections | Legal workplace rights protected by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) for national system employees, including the right to:
|
| Modern awards | Awards made after 1 January 2010 that set out the minimum wages and conditions for your industry or occupation. Most jobs are covered by a modern award, except for some managers and employees who are high income employees and earn over $167,500Â (as at 1 July 2023). |
National employment standards (NES) | Standards that set out the 10 minimum entitlements for all employees in Australia. They are part of the Fair Work system that began on 1 January 2010. The standards cover a range of entitlements, including:
|
| National system employee | An employee covered by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). It excludes most State government and local government employees, including employees working in the NSW public service, for a Local Council, or a state-owned corporation. |
| Sexual harassment | An unwelcome sexual advance, unwelcome request for sexual favours, or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, which a reasonable person would expect to offend, humiliate or intimidate. |
| ​Surveillance | ​Surveillance of an employee by camera, computer software or equipment, or tracking device. |
| ​Tracking surveillance | ​Surveillance that tracks the location or movement of an employee, for example by a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking device. |
| ​Unlawful Discrimination | ​When someone is treated differently because of a particular ground (for example, their sex (including transgender), race, age, sexual preference, disability or illness, marital status or pregnancy and family or carers responsibilities) in a particular area (for example, work, education, accommodation, in the provision of goods and services). |
| Vilification | When someone says or does something in public that could make other people ridicule or hate a particular group of people. |
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| Organisation | Fee |
|---|---|
| Anti-Discrimination NSW | There is no fee to make a complaint to Anti-Discrimination NSW. |
| Australian Human Rights Commission | There is no fee to make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission. |
| Fair Work Commission | You have to pay a filing fee to apply to the Fair Work Commission. See Apply or lodge on the Fair Work Commission website. If you are in serious hardship, you can ask for the fee to be waived. |
Federal Court of Australia Federal Circuit Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) | You have to pay a filing fee to apply to the Federal Court or FCFCOA. See Court fees on the Federal Court of Australia website and General federal law fees on the FCFCOA website. You can apply for an exemption from paying the filing fee in certain circumstances. See Exemption From Paying Court Fees on the Federal Court of Australia website. |
| Organisation | Forms |
|---|---|
| Anti-Discrimination NSW | How to make a complaint |
| Australian Human Rights Commission | |
| Fair Work Commission | General protections application not involving dismissal |
| Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia | Form 4 - Claim under the Fair Work Act 2009 alleging contravention of a general protection – paragraph 45.08(b) Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia |
| Federal Court of Australia | Forms |
| My problem is about | Forms - My job |
| Organisation | Type | Costs |
|---|---|---|
| Fair Work Commission | Legal costs | Generally, each party is responsible for their own legal costs. However, in some circumstances the Fair Work Commission can make costs orders against a party, for example, if a general protections application was made without reasonable cause, or where it was vexatious, or if the application did not have reasonable prospects of success. In some circumstances the Fair Work Commission can also make costs orders against a lawyer or agent representing a part. For example, if the lawyer encouraged an application to be made even though there were no reasonable prospects of success, or where they caused costs to be incurred because of something they did or did not do with the case. |
Federal Court of Australia Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia | Legal costs | If you have a general protections dispute being heard in the Federal Court of Australia or Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, you will usually have to pay your own legal costs if you get a lawyer to represent you. In limited circumstances, the Court can make a cost order, for example, where one party started proceedings vexatiously or without reasonable cause, has refused to participate in proceedings, or has caused the other party to incur costs. If you have made a discrimination claim in the Federal Court of Australia or Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, the Court will generally order that the losing party pay the successful party's costs. The Court can put a cap on costs if there is a public interest in the case being heard. |
Our services
More services
More resources
- Australian Human Rights Commission
- Australian Securities & Investments Commission
- Fair Work Ombudsman
- NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal
- Redfern Legal Centre: Your rights as a worker in Australia: international students
- Redfern Legal Centre: Sex discrimination and sexual harassment remedies for workers in NSW
- Redfern Legal Centre: Speak up, speak out
- Redfern Legal Centre: Reinstatement of fortnightly hours cap
- SafeWork NSW: The basics: your rights at work
Last updated: February 2024