Kyleen Randall v Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Aboriginal Corporation

Case [2023] FWC 337


[2023] FWC 337

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.394—Unfair dismissal

Kyleen Randall
v

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Aboriginal Corporation

(U2023/277)

COMMISSIONER BISSETT

MELBOURNE, 10 FEBRUARY 2023

Application for an unfair dismissal remedy – unpaid application – dismissal at the Commission’s initiative under s.587

  1. On 10 January 2023 Miss Kyleen Randall made an application to the Fair Work Commission for a remedy for unfair dismissal pursuant to s.394 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act).

  1. The application was incomplete in that Miss Randall did not pay the required fee or file a completed waiver form.

  1. On 11 January 2023 the Commission emailed correspondence to Miss Randall’s nominated email address advising that her application required payment of the filing fee or a completed waiver form if she wished to proceed with the application. That correspondence also warned that if payment was not made or a waiver form was not received within 7 calendar days the application may be dismissed. An SMS notification was also sent to Miss Randall’s nominated telephone number on 12 January 2023 advising of the requirement to action the payment request email from the Fair Work Commission.

  1. On 19 January 2023 the Commission emailed correspondence to Miss Randall’s nominated email address reminding that her application required payment of the filing fee or a completed waiver form if she wished to proceed with the application. That correspondence also warned that if payment was not made or a waiver form was not received, the application may be dismissed. 

  1. A final attempt to contact Miss Randall on her nominated telephone number was made by the Commission on 30 January 2023 to obtain payment or a completed waiver form. The call was not answered. A voicemail message was left advising Miss Randall that payment of the required fee was still outstanding.

  1. To date there has been no response from Miss Randall, the required fee has not been paid and a completed waiver form has not been received.

  1. Section 395 of the FW Act, which deals with application fees, provides as follows:

395 Application fees

(1) An application to the FWC under this Division must be accompanied by any fee prescribed by the regulations.

(2) The regulations may prescribe:

(a) a fee for making an application to the FWC under this Division; and

(b) a method for indexing the fee; and

(c) the circumstances in which all or part of the fee may be waived or refunded.

  1. Section 587(1) of the FW Act provides as follows:

587 Dismissing applications

(1) Without limiting when the FWC may dismiss an application, the FWC may dismiss an application if:

(a) the application is not made in accordance with this Act; or

(b) the application is frivolous or vexatious; or

(c) the application has no reasonable prospect of success.

  1. I am satisfied that, as the application was not accompanied by the fee prescribed by the FW Act, the application was not made in accordance with the FW Act. As such, I order that the application is dismissed pursuant to s.587(1)(a) of the FW Act.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

<PR750353>

Details
AGLC
Kyleen Randall v Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Aboriginal Corporation [2023] FWC 337
Case
[2023] FWC 337
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Kyleen Randall filed an application with the Fair Work Commission under section 394 of the Fair Work Act 2009 seeking a remedy for unfair dismissal against the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Aboriginal Corporation. The application was incomplete as Miss Randall failed to pay the required fee or file a completed waiver form. The Commission notified Miss Randall multiple times via email and SMS that her application was incomplete and required immediate action to avoid dismissal. Despite these attempts, Miss Randall did not respond, and the required fee and waiver form were not provided, leading to the application being dismissed under section 587 of the Fair Work Act.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the application could be dismissed as it was not made in accordance with the Fair Work Act due to the failure to pay the prescribed fee or file a waiver form. The Commission needed to determine if the application met the necessary procedural requirements and whether it had a reasonable prospect of success. The relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act, specifically sections 395 and 587, were pivotal in guiding the decision.

The Commission found that the application was not made in accordance with the Fair Work Act because it was not accompanied by the required fee. The Commission was satisfied that despite multiple attempts to contact Miss Randall, she failed to respond or rectify the deficiency. Consequently, the application was dismissed under section 587(1)(a) of the Fair Work Act. The Commissioner concluded that the application did not meet the procedural prerequisites and had no reasonable prospect of success.

The final order of the Commission was to dismiss Miss Randall's application for unfair dismissal under section 587(1)(a) of the Fair Work Act. The dismissal was made due to the non-compliance with the application fee requirement, as stipulated in section 395 of the Act. The Commission's decision was based on the lack of response from Miss Randall despite multiple notifications and the failure to pay the required fee or file a completed waiver form.

Orders

Orders of the court

Full text does not contain this section.

Background

Background to the litigation

Full text does not contain this section.

Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

Full text does not contain this section.

Decision

Reasons for decision

Full text does not contain this section.

Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

Full text does not contain this section.