1 Fair Work Act 2009 s 394—Unfair dismissal Brodie Nance v The Panel Shop Mermaid Beach Pty Ltd (U2026/2176) DEPUTY PRESIDENT BEAUMONT PERTH, 15 JUNE 2026 Application for relief from unfair dismissal – application fee not paid or waived – minimum employment period – dismissal under s 587(1)(a), (c) at the Commission’s initiative – application not made in accordance with the Act – application has no reasonable prospects of success Issue and outcome [1] On 5 February 2026, Brodie Nance (the Applicant) made an unfair dismissal application (the Application) to the Fair Work Commission under s 394 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). [2] For the following reasons, I am satisfied that the Application has no reasonable prospects of success and should be dismissed. [3] In their Application, the Applicant indicated that they commenced employment with The Panel Shop Mermaid Beach Pty Ltd on 14 October 2025 and that they were notified of their dismissal on 16 January 2026. On the information provided by the Applicant, they were employed for approximately three months. [4] Section 382 of the Act provides that a person is only eligible to make an unfair dismissal application if they have completed a minimum employment period before their dismissal. Section 383 defines the minimum employment period to be either six months or one year, depending on whether the Respondent was a small business employer at the time of the dismissal. On the information provided by the Applicant, the minimum employment period was twelve months. [5] In addition to the above issue, the Application was not made in accordance with the Act (see s 587(1)(a)) because the prescribed fee (see s 395 of the Act) has not been paid or waived. [6] Commission staff contacted the Applicant by email on 11 February 2026. The Applicant was informed that based upon the information in their Application, they had not completed the minimum employment period. The Applicant was also placed on notice that [2026] FWC 2198 DECISION AND ORDER [2026] FWC 2198 2 their Application was very likely to be dismissed if no response was received by 18 February 2026. On that same day, Commission staff sent the Applicant a separate email noting that the Applicant was required to pay the Application fee or apply to have it waived within seven days or the Application may be dismissed. On 11 February 2026, Commission staff sent the Applicant an SMS alerting the Applicant to the fact that the Application required attention. The Applicant did not respond to the Commission’s correspondence. [7] My Chambers contacted the Applicant by email on 28 May 2026 and 4 June 2026. On each occasion, the Applicant was directed to provide their response with respect to the minimum employment period or to provide any submissions regarding the potential dismissal of the Application within a set period. It was also noted that should the Applicant seek to proceed with their application, they would need to pay the Application fee or apply to have it waived. The Applicant was put on notice that absent receipt of their response within that timeframe, the Application would be dismissed without further notice. Chambers also sent the Applicant an SMS on 28 May 2026 alerting the Applicant that the Application required attention. To date, the Commission has received no response. Section 587 – general principles [8] Section 587 of the Act allows the Commission to dismiss an application on the Commission’s own initiative in the early stages of the proceedings. Protracted proceedings can be avoided when there is no reasonable prospect of an outcome other than the dismissal of the application. [9] The power under s 587 should be used with caution, particularly if the matter involves complex questions of fact or law (see generally Bond v Carbridge Pty Ltd [2024] FWC 1302 at [11]-[16] (‘Bond’)). An application should not be dismissed under s 587 unless it is very clear that there are no reasonable prospects of success. As such the power under s 587 is not available if there are disputed facts that could affect the outcome of the proceedings. [10] Importantly, applicants must be given a fair opportunity to show that their application does in fact have some reasonable prospects of success. Reasonable prospects of success [11] The Commission cannot consider the fairness of the Applicant’s dismissal until it is established that they are protected from unfair dismissal. [12] The information provided by the Applicant in their Application strongly indicates that they are not protected from unfair dismissal because they do not appear to have served the minimum employment period. [13] The Applicant had the opportunity to provide information that could show that they had in fact completed the minimum employment period. However, the Applicant has not provided any information that is consistent with them having done so. Further, the Applicant has had ample opportunity to pay the Application fee or apply to have it waived. [2026] FWC 2198 3 [14] The Applicant has had the opportunity to put their case for consideration on all matters material to the decision to dismiss the application under s 587 of the Act (see Bond at [15]- [16]), namely that the Applicant has not met the minimum employment period and that the Application fee has not been paid or waived. [15] I am satisfied that the Application has no reasonable prospect of success within the meaning of s 587(1)(c) of the Act and that it was not made in accordance with the Act within the meaning of s 587(1)(a). It is therefore appropriate in the circumstances to dismiss the Application on the Commission’s own initiative using the facility available in s 587(3)(a). I make the following order: A. The application under s 394 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) made by Brodie Nance on 5 February 2026 is dismissed. DEPUTY PRESIDENT Matter determined on the papers Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer <PR810990>