What This Act Actually Does
You keep seeing this law named as the reason you can challenge your dismissal.
The Industrial Relations Act 1967 is the actual source of the right most people are relying on when they say a dismissal was unfair.
What It Means
This Act governs disputes between employers and employees, including the process for challenging a dismissal. Its Section 20 lets an employee file a written representation within 60 days of being dismissed.1
It also sets out how that filing moves forward, from conciliation through to a hearing at the Industrial Court if no settlement is reached.
Why It Matters To You
A 2020 amendment changed part of this process, removing a step where a minister could decide whether an unresolved case moved forward. Now the Director General refers it directly.2
That change generally made the path from a failed conciliation to a court hearing more direct and predictable than it was before.
How Does This Act Protect You
Its core protection is the idea that dismissal needs just cause or excuse, and that the burden of proving that sits with your employer, not with you.
If you are still unsure whether your situation fits, start with unfair dismissal for the general picture, and Section 20 representation for the actual filing.
Whatever stage you are at, confirm your 60-day window on the deadline calculator since it is the strictest part of this entire process.
Telling us what actually happened when your job ended helps us explain how this Act applies to your specific case.
Common questions
Is this the same law as the Employment Act?
No. The Employment Act sets baseline entitlements like notice and leave. This Act deals with industrial relations disputes, including the right to challenge a dismissal as unfair.
Does this Act cover every kind of workplace dispute?
It focuses on industrial relations matters such as dismissal, trade unions, and collective disputes. Other issues, like unpaid statutory pay, are usually handled through different laws and agencies.
Sources
- An employee who considers they were dismissed without just cause or excuse may make a written representation to the Director General of Industrial Relations within 60 days of the dismissal. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates, Unfair Dismissal
- Since the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2020 came into force on 1 January 2021, the Director General refers a case that does not settle at conciliation directly to the Industrial Court. MECA, Industrial Relations Act 1967 Guide
Keep reading
Telling us what actually happened when your job ended helps us explain how this Act applies to your specific case.