Miles Johnson v Fva Group Pty Ltd

[2021] FWC 6644

[2021] FWC 6644

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.394—Unfair dismissal

Miles Johnson
v
FVA Group Pty Ltd
(U2021/10052)

COMMISSIONER BISSETT MELBOURNE, 21 DECEMBER 2021

Application for an unfair dismissal remedy

[1] On 8 November 2021 Mr Miles Johnson 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). Mr Johnson alleged he was unfairly dismissed by FVA Group Pty Ltd (the Respondent) on 5 November 2021.

[2] The application was incomplete in that Mr Johnson did not pay the required fee or file a completed waiver form.

[3] On 11 November 2021 the Commission attempted to contact Mr Johnson on his nominated telephone number to discuss payment of the required fee. However, Mr Johnson did not answer the call. A voicemail message was left requesting Mr Johnson contact the Commission for payment of the lodgement fee.

[4] Later that day, the Commission emailed correspondence to Mr Johnson’s nominated email address advising that his application required payment of the filing fee or a completed waiver form if he wished to proceed with the application. That correspondence also warned that if payment was not made or a waiver form was not received within 14 days, the application may be dismissed. An SMS notification was also sent to Mr Johnson’s nominated telephone number, advising that there was a problem with their application and requesting he contact the Commission.

[5] A final attempt to contact Mr Johnson was made by the Commission on 2 December 2021 to obtain payment or a completed waiver form. The call was not answered and a voicemail message was left advising Mr Johnson that payment of the required fee was still outstanding.

[6] To date there has been no response from Mr Johnson, the required fee has not been paid and a completed waiver form has not been received.

[7] 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.

[8] Section 587(1) of the FW Act provides:

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.

[9] Having regard to the circumstances of this matter, 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, the application is dismissed pursuant to s.587(1)(a) of the FW Act. An order 1 to this effect will be issued with this decision.

COMMISSIONER

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