This website applies only to residents and the law of New South Wales, Australia.
 

4. THE NSW SYSTEM (continued)

4.5 How to make a claim in the NSW system?

The application form

Application forms are available from the IRC registry and on the IRC website.

When filling in the claim form, you'll need to provide the following information:

  • Contact details - your name and address and your employer's name and address.

Take particular care to give the correct name of your employer as errors can lead to delays in processing your claim. A common mistake is to only give the trading name of the company. Make sure you get the right name by checking any formal documents you may have, for example, a payslip or tax group certificate. It is often useful to write '..............(employer's name), trading as.............(trading name)'
  • Details about your work - the position you held and the name of the award (or other industrial instrument) you are covered by.
  • Representation - whether a union or lawyer is acting for you.
  • What you are claiming - reinstatement, re-employment and/or compensation.
  • Details about the unfairness - your reasons for believing that the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable (eg; that your employer failed to give you any warning or an opportunity to respond to the reason given for dismissal). Keep your summary of the facts and explanation brief and simple.
  • Statutory Declaration - you will need to declare that the contents of your claim are true by signing the statutory declaration on the claim form before a Justice of the Peace or a solicitor.
  • Undertaking not to proceed with other redress relating to dismissal [Form 11]. You may also be asked to sign the undertaking saying you will not make a claim under any other laws in relation to your dismissal. If you think you may be eligible to claim under other laws, for example, anti-discrimination laws, you should seek advice before signing the undertaking.

Lodging the application form

Your application form has to be lodged at the registry of the IRC. You must lodge three copies of your application with your original form, and any other relevant documents (such as termination documents, letters, payslips etc.). Applications can also be lodged by post.

If your application form is correct the registry staff will stamp the forms. They will send a copy to your employer and they will give you a stamped copy to keep.

There is a filing fee of $50.00 unless you can show financial hardship. An application form for Waiver or Reduction of Filing Fee can be downloaded from the IRC website.

The Registry will set a listing date for the conciliation of the unfair dismissal claim. There is a standard time of 21 days from filing to first listing for cases in Sydney. Regional matters will be listed as soon as possible.

If you are a union member, your union can lodge the forms on your behalf. There is no filing fee for Unions acting on behalf of members.

Registry staff can check your documents and tell you about the procedure for processing applications, but cannot advise you on the conduct of your case.

Response from Employer

You do not need to give a copy of your application to your employer - the IRC will do this for you. Your employer is required to lodge a notice of appearance and response with the IRC within 10 days of receiving a copy of your application.

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