An employee is generally any person employed by an employer to do work for hire or reward. The types of employees that can make applications and claims to the Commission include:
The type of application you can make depends on the identity of your employer and how you are employed.
An employer includes persons, firms, companies and corporations, as well as public authorities, employing one or more employees. The State system in Western Australia covers employers who are not national system employers. A national system employer includes a trading, financial or foreign corporation ('constitutional corporation'). Most employers in the private sector are trading corporations. Therefore, they are deemed 'national system' employers and most aspects of the employment relationship are dealt with by the Fair Work Commission.
In general terms, independent contractors and sub-contractors are ineligible to make a claim in the Commission, with the exception of owner-drivers under the Owner-Drivers (Contracts and Disputes) Act 2007 (WA). For more information on owner-drivers and the Road Freight Transport Industry Tribunal, click here.
The types of claims you can make depend on who your employer is and how you are employed.
Employees who are employed in the private sector and by local government authorities can make applications to the Commission. These applications include:
The Commission is able to deal with an application from a private sector employee where the employer is unincorporated – that is, the employer is a partnership, sole trader, or an association or organisation that does not substantially engage in trading or financial activities (known as a State system employer). This includes local government authorities and some not-for-profit organisations. The Commission cannot deal with an unfair dismissal application from a private sector employee where the employer is a trading, financial or foreign corporation (a 'constitutional corporation'), or the Commonwealth government (known as a national system employee).
While only State system employees may be eligible to lodge an unfair dismissal application, both State and national system employees can make a contractual benefit claim.
A worker who has been bullied at work and is at risk of future bullying occurring, may apply for an order to prevent further bullying at work.
An application for a stop sexual harassment order and/or a sexual harassment referral can be made when a person has been sexually harassed in connection with work and is seeking the Commission’s assistance. This includes where a person is seeking that the Commission make an order to stop further sexual harassment in connection with work and/or that the Commission make an order for the payment of money, a declaration or other orders as appropriate to remedy the sexual harassment.
An application for when an employee and their employer are in dispute about a request for a flexible working arrangement.
A government officer is defined by section 36AB of the Industrial Relations Act 1979 and includes:
The following are not government officers:
Information on applications available to government officers can be found here.
A public service officer is defined in section 3 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 and is an officer appointed to the Public Service under Part 3 of that Act. This includes a permanent officer appointed under section 64(1)(a) of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 and an officer appointed for a fixed term under section 64(1)(b) of that Act. It is recommended that you check your letter of appointment from when you commenced in your public sector role or employment.
Broadly speaking, the Public Service is made up of government departments and other government organisations. Not all government employees are public service officers. For example, if an employee is appointed casually, they are unlikely to be a ‘public service officer’. If an employee is appointed to assist a political office holder, they are not an employee of the Public Service and therefore are not public service officers. It is recommended that you check your letter of appointment from when you commenced in your public sector role or employment.
Information on applications available to public service officers can be found here.
The category of 'other government employees' refers to those employees who are not government officers or public service officers but are (or were) employed under the Public Sector Management Act 1994 (WA).
For more information on the types of claims that can be made, please click here.
There are a number of specific applications that can be made by apprentices, police officers, prison and youth custodial officers.
For more information, please see Form 8C - Notice of Appeal or Referral.
If you are unsure about the status of your employment or whether you may be eligible to make a claim, you may wish to seek legal advice or see our list of external resources.
Our Fact Sheets provides guidance on legal proceedings at the Commission.
Please visit our About us page for more information on the coverage and jurisdiction of the Commission, including matters it has the power to deal with.
Parties may be represented or they may represent themselves. Parties can be represented by a lawyer, industrial agent or a relative or friend. Except where the representative is a lawyer, the party being represented must file a Form 11 – Notification of Representative Commencing or Ceasing to Act to confirm that another person, agency or organisation is representing them.
You can contact the Commission's Registry by email, phone or in-person. We also have helpful Fact Sheets which may assist in answering your questions.
You will need to provide the Commission with the contact details of your employer to enable a copy of your application to be served on them. The employer is not necessarily the director, owner or manager of the business.
To identify your former or current employer, one or more of the following may be helpful: group certificate, pay slip, letter of appointment, job advertisement, written employment contract or agreement, and performing a company or business name search.
You could also try to obtain company information from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), or the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.
Information about the supported wage system is available on the website of the Commonwealth Department that deals with employment and jobs, currently the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business.
The Australian Taxation Office deals with enquiries in relation to superannuation. You can contact the ATO about superannuation enquiries on 13 10 20.
