Employment Lawyers Brisbane

How employment law works in Queensland: two systems, and you need to know which one is yours

The first question in any Queensland workplace dispute is not whether you were treated badly. It is which system covers you, because that decides where you apply and which rules are used.

If you work for a private business in Brisbane, whether that is a bar in Fortitude Valley, a tech company in Newstead, a builder in Bowen Hills or a clinic in Spring Hill, you are almost certainly in the national system. That means the Fair Work Act 2009 (a federal law) applies, and dismissal claims go to the Fair Work Commission, the national workplace tribunal.

If you work for the Queensland Government or a local council such as Brisbane City Council, you are outside the national system. Your employment is governed by Queensland's Industrial Relations Act 2016, and your claim goes to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC), a state tribunal. The QIRC says it generally deals with dismissed state and local government employees, including staff of Parents and Citizens' Associations.

Applying to the wrong body can waste days you do not have. If you are unsure who your legal employer is, check your payslip and contract before you lodge anything.

Dismissed in Brisbane? The 21-day limit and where your application goes

Both systems give you 21 days after the dismissal takes effect. The Fair Work Commission calls this a strict limit: late applications are generally not accepted, and it says about 80 per cent of requests for extra time in general protections dismissal cases are refused. The QIRC can also allow a further period, but you should not plan on getting one.

In the national system there are two main dismissal claims. Unfair dismissal asks whether the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable. To be eligible you must have worked for at least 6 months, or 12 months if your employer is a small business, and if no award or enterprise agreement applies to you, you must earn less than the high income threshold, which is $190,100 from 1 July 2026. A general protections claim is different: it says you were dismissed for a reason the law prohibits, such as being temporarily away from work because of illness or injury. You cannot run both about the same dismissal, so the choice matters.

The Commission usually holds a conciliation, which is a guided settlement discussion, about 5 weeks after you apply. It reports that 3 out of 4 unfair dismissal cases resolve at that stage. If a general protections dismissal dispute does not settle, the Commission issues a certificate and you then have 14 days to apply to the Federal Court or the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, whose Brisbane registry is in the Harry Gibbs Commonwealth Law Courts Building at 119 North Quay.

For state and council employees, the claim is called an application for reinstatement and is filed on a Form 12 with the Industrial Registry. The exclusions differ from the federal ones: the QIRC notes you may not be eligible if you were on probation (generally the first three months), were a short-term casual, or were engaged for a specific period or task. The Act also excludes some higher earners who are not covered by an industrial instrument, using the same federal high income threshold. If a QIRC conference does not resolve the matter, the Commission issues a certificate and you have six months from receiving it to take the matter on towards a hearing.

Conveniently, both tribunals sit in the same Brisbane CBD building. The Fair Work Commission's Queensland office is on Level 14, Central Plaza Two, 66 Eagle Street, and the QIRC's Industrial Registry is on Level 21 of the same tower, a short trip from Fortitude Valley.

Discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying at work in Queensland

Queensland has its own discrimination law, the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, and its own complaints body, the Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC). A complaint must generally be made within 1 year of the conduct. After that, the Commissioner can only accept it if you show good cause for the delay.

The QHRC does not decide who is right. It tries to resolve the complaint through conciliation. If that fails, you can require the complaint to be referred on, and this is where Queensland is distinctive: a work-related complaint goes to the QIRC, not to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT), which hears the non-work discrimination matters.

You may also have federal options. The Fair Work Commission can deal with applications to stop workplace bullying and with workplace sexual harassment disputes, and a dismissal linked to discrimination may support a general protections claim. These paths overlap, and starting one can close off another, so it is worth getting advice on which forum fits your situation before you lodge.

Long service leave, work injuries and safety: the Queensland rules that still apply to private employees

Even if you are in the national system, some of your rights come from Queensland law.

Long service leave is the main one. Where no federal entitlement applies, the Industrial Relations Act 2016 gives most Queensland employees, including casuals, 8.6667 weeks of paid leave after 10 years of continuous service. If your job ends after at least 7 but less than 10 years, you may be owed a pro-rata payment, but only if the reason for the ending fits the Act, for example you were dismissed for a reason other than your conduct, capacity or performance, you were unfairly dismissed, or you resigned because of illness or a pressing necessity. This is often missed in redundancy and termination payouts.

If work has injured you, physically or psychologically, the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 applies. An application for compensation is only valid if it is lodged within 6 months after the entitlement arises. WorkCover Queensland is the main insurer under that Act (some large employers are self-insured), and disputed decisions can be reviewed by the Workers' Compensation Regulator and then appealed to the QIRC.

Safety obligations sit under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), which requires a business to ensure workers' health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable. The regulator is Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, part of the Office of Industrial Relations.

How Queensland differs from other states

In Victoria almost all employees, including most state public servants, are in the national system, so nearly every dismissal claim there goes to the Fair Work Commission. Queensland, like New South Wales and South Australia, kept its state public sector and local government workforce in a separate state system, which is why the QIRC matters here.

Queensland also sends unresolved work-related discrimination complaints to its industrial commission rather than to QCAT, its general civil tribunal. And the QIRC restricts lawyers: under the Industrial Relations Act 2016 a party can usually be legally represented only if all parties consent or the Commission gives leave (in work-related discrimination matters, leave is what counts), and not at all in public service appeals, which are appeals against certain decisions under the Public Sector Act 2022. A lawyer can still advise you and prepare your material.

Getting help from Fortitude Valley

Vitt Legal's Brisbane office is at Level 1 Jubilee Place, 470 St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley. We assist employees and employers across inner Brisbane, including the Valley, New Farm, Newstead, Bowen Hills, Spring Hill, the CBD, South Brisbane, West End and Kangaroo Point, as well as the wider Brisbane region.

If you have just lost your job, write down the date you were told and the date your employment ended, keep the termination letter or message, and gather your contract and recent payslips. Those few documents are enough to work out which system you are in and how many of your 21 days are left. This page is general information only and is not legal advice about your situation.