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FWCFair Work Commission · 31 December 2024

the Applicant v the Respondent & Shine Time Music Therapy Pty Ltd

Citation: [2025] FWC 1385

At a glance

Employees affected
1

What happened

the Applicant commenced working for Shine Time Music Therapy Pty Ltd. The matter concerned an application to deal with general protections contraventions involving dismissal. The Fair Work Commission considered whether a termination occurred at the employer’s initiative. the Applicant brought the application.

What was decided

The Fair Work Commission dismissed a jurisdictional objection. The objection argued that there was no termination at the initiative of the employer. the Commissioner found that a termination did occur at the employer’s initiative. The Commission proceeded to consider the merits of the application.

What it means for employers

Employers must accurately determine whether an employee’s departure was initiated by them. Mischaracterising a termination can impact jurisdictional considerations in Fair Work applications.

What it means for employees

Employees should be aware of their rights regarding termination and ensure that employers correctly classify the end of employment.

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general-protectionsunfair-dismissal

Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:

https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/decisionssigned/pdf/2025fwc1385.pdf

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This summary was drafted from the published decision and reviewed before publishing. It is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified lawyer. About these summaries & corrections →

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