the Applicant v QIC LIMITED
Citation: [2025] FWC 3938
What happened
the Applicant was employed by QIC Limited under a fixed-term contract. The contract ended when the term expired. the Applicant applied to the Fair Work Commission, arguing his contract’s expiry constituted a dismissal. The Commission considered whether the end of the fixed term amounted to a dismissal under the Fair Work Act.
What was decided
The Fair Work Commission found that the expiry of the Applicant’s fixed-term contract did not constitute a dismissal. the Commissioner stated that for a fixed-term contract to be a dismissal, there must be an element of termination beyond the expiry of the term. The Commission dismissed the application.
What it means for employers
Employers using fixed-term contracts should be aware that the expiry of the term itself does not constitute a dismissal. Any actions taken beyond the contract's end, such as preventing the employee from working, could be considered a dismissal.
What it means for employees
Employees with fixed-term contracts should understand that the contract's natural expiry is not a dismissal. However, if an employer takes actions beyond the contract’s end that effectively terminate employment, it could be considered a dismissal.
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/2025fwc3938.pdfWant more cases like this?
FairWork Mate tracks Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions across Australia. The full dataset, with structured fields for awards cited, industry, penalty amounts and affected employee counts, is available through the Business API. FairWork Mate answers plain-English questions grounded on the full corpus.
Individual case summaries on this site are free. API + advisor access is a paid product. Contact us for pricing or a 50% off first month.
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 →