[2025] FWC 1551
Citation: [2025] FWC 1551
At a glance
- Employees affected
- 1
What happened
the Applicant, a high school teacher, was dismissed by the Australian International Islamic College Ltd (College) on December 21, 2023, following allegations of raising her voice at students and concerns about student behaviour. Student A initially complained about the Applicant’s teaching methods in June 2023. Subsequently, complaints from Students B and C arose regarding disruptive behavior. Prior to the dismissal, the Applicant had communicated with College leadership about these issues and received their support. An incident occurred where the College Director, Mohammed Azhari, spoke inappropriately to another teacher.
What was decided
The Fair Work Commission found the Applicant’s dismissal was unfair. The Commissioner noted that it's unreasonable to expect teachers not to raise their voices when managing misbehaving students and that the College leadership had been aware of and supportive of the Applicant’s actions until November 2023. Evidence from Student A, indicating superiors also used raised voices, undermined the College’s claims. The initial reinstatement order was quashed on appeal, leading to a rehearing where all evidence was reconsidered. No compensation beyond what is typically ordered in unfair dismissal cases was awarded.
What it means for employers
Employers must ensure fair and reasonable processes are followed when addressing employee performance or misconduct allegations. Rushing to dismiss experienced employees based solely on student complaints about voice tone can be detrimental. Leaders should consistently apply disciplinary standards across all staff, including themselves, and avoid contrived dismissal processes that rely on false evidence.
What it means for employees
Employees facing disciplinary action have the right to a fair process and should document communication with employers regarding performance concerns or misconduct allegations. If an employee believes they’ve been unfairly dismissed, they can lodge an application with the Fair Work Commission.
Want this applied to your situation?
Reading the decision is free. FairWork Mate goes further — it reads the full case library and applies precedents like this one to your specific facts, citing the cases as it reasons. General information, not a guaranteed outcome or legal advice.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/decisionssigned/pdf/2025fwc1551.pdfSend your details to Liquid Employment Lawyers
Liquid Employment Lawyers is a paid legal service and our referral partner, not free Fair Work advice. Tell them what has happened and a member of their team will call you back. For free general guidance, use our tools or call the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.
Prefer to read first? About Liquid Employment Lawyers · Not sure if you need a lawyer? Read the legal help guides
Want more cases like this?
FairWork Mate tracks Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions across Australia. The AI advisor answers plain-English questions grounded on the full corpus — awards cited, industry, penalty amounts and affected employee counts — with a citation to the underlying decision on every answer.
Individual case summaries on this site are free. The full FWC and Federal Court library behind every advisor answer is on Pro.
FairWork Mate AI
This is one decision. Pro reads all of them.
Free case pages cite the top 250 decisions. Pro opens the full Fair Work Commission and Federal Court library, cross-references your own situation against it, and cites the decision behind every answer — plus document upload, so it can read your letter or contract line by line. 150 questions a month, cancel anytime.
Just need this week sorted? A 7-Day Pass is 50 questions over 7 days, no account. Get a 7-Day Pass — $14.99
Get notified on new Fair Work cases
Free email alerts when we publish new underpayment decisions, penalty orders, and workplace law updates.
Free forever. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
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