Form · Employment & Workplace Relations
Unfair dismissal application (Fair Work Commission Form F2): eligibility, the 21-day limit and completion guide
Link to the Commission's Form F2 and eligibility questions, with a guide to the 21-day limit, who can apply, the minimum employment period, extensions in exceptional circumstances, and the GenAI rules that apply from 20 October 2026.
- Kind
- Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
- Where it applies
- Australia, Commonwealth
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 18 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 18 October 2026 against the official form at fwc.gov.au and the 4 authorities it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Link to the official form. Licence: © Commonwealth of Australia (Fair Work Commission). Link only: use the current form from the Commission each time; do not copy or adapt it.
Where this comes from
The official form is published by fwc.gov.au; this page is a completion guide. Last checked on 2026-10-18.
When to use it
Use when acting for an employee who was dismissed (or demoted with a significant reduction in pay or duties) and claims the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable under the Fair Work Act 2009.
Used for these tasks
- Draft the unfair-dismissal or equivalent tribunal application and response
- Build a dismissal chronology and urgent filing check
- Prepare a Fair Work Commission application under the AI guidance note
- Prepare FWC documents with the required AI disclosure
- Review a self-represented worker's AI-assisted unfair dismissal application
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
AI may help build the chronology and check eligibility facts and the form against the Commission's questions; the lawyer checks every statement in each application, and the Commission's GenAI disclosure and checking statement are made.
AI may
- Build a dated chronology of the employment and dismissal from the client's documents, with a source for each entry
- Check eligibility facts (employment type, how employment ended, length of service, employer size) against the Commission's questions and flag gaps
- Calculate the 21-day deadline from the date the dismissal took effect, for the lawyer to diarise
- Draft a first-cut description of why the dismissal was unfair from the lawyer's notes, for the lawyer to settle
AI must not
- Must not decide whether the client was dismissed, is eligible, or has exceptional circumstances for a late application
- Must not write a witness statement or declaration in the client's words
- Must not cite a case that has not been checked and hyperlinked
The lawyer checks
- Lodged within 21 days after the dismissal took effect, or clear reasons and evidence for exceptional circumstances
- Eligibility: an employee (not a contractor or irregular casual), dismissed, and the minimum employment period served (6 months; 12 months for a small business employer)
- Unfair dismissal is the right claim rather than general protections, decided before lodging
- GenAI question in the form answered and the checking statement included if GenAI was used
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Official form
Open the official form. Always use the current version from the issuer. Licence: © Commonwealth of Australia (Fair Work Commission). Link only: use the current form from the Commission each time; do not copy or adapt it..
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
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