Application by the Applicant
Citation: [2026] FWC 2887
At a glance
- Employees affected
- 1
What happened
The Applicant, a caretaker for Sanctuary at Buderim in Queensland (through her company Laro Real Estate Pty Ltd), applied to the Fair Work Commission seeking orders to stop bullying by the Sanctuary Committee. The dispute arose from disagreements about the scope of the Applicant's duties and remuneration under a Caretaker Contract. Previous attempts to resolve the issues through settlement agreements had failed, leading to further disputes and allegations of unreasonable behaviour by the committee including criticism, inconsistent directions, exclusion from processes, misleading information, micromanaging, and monitoring. A proposed sale of the Caretaker Contract also faced difficulties.
What was decided
The Fair Work Commission found that the Applicant had been bullied at work by the Sanctuary Committee. While some complaints related to contractual disputes, the Commissioner identified specific instances of unreasonable behaviour as bullying. These included intrusive monitoring and a refusal to review an email regarding missed bin duties. The Commission will issue separate orders (PR812696) to prevent further bullying. The earlier settlement agreement had failed due to communication breakdowns between the parties.
What it means for employers
Employers, particularly those managing body corporate or community management arrangements, should ensure clear communication and reasonable expectations are set for contracted employees. Disputes about contractual obligations should be handled professionally and not escalate into unreasonable behaviour that could constitute bullying. Transparency and a willingness to review and correct inaccurate information are crucial.
What it means for employees
Employees experiencing workplace bullying should document instances of concerning behaviour and consider seeking legal advice or support from relevant organisations. It's important to understand the definition of 'bullying at work' under the Fair Work Act, which excludes reasonable management action.
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/2026fwc2887.pdfWant 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. Full-corpus advisor access is a paid product — Business Solo from $99/mo, 50% off your first 3 months for the first 100 signups.
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 →