Avoid Dismissal: 8 Steps to Lodge a Stop Bullying Order in Australia
Yes, the Fair Work Commission can make an order to stop bullying, but only if you can show repeated unreasonable behaviour and an ongoing risk while you are still at or connected to the workplace. The order is preventative, not compensatory, so it cannot get you a payout. Start by documenting incidents now with dates and detail, and use an internal grievance process if it feels safe, otherwise begin preparing Form F72.
TL;DR:
- Only workers who are still connected to a constitutionally covered employer and face an ongoing risk can apply for a stop bullying order, not after leaving the workplace.
- The application must include at least two specific, dated examples of unreasonable behavior and clearly explain why the behavior is likely to continue.
- Orders issued are practical and preventive, such as behavior restrictions or policy updates, but cannot include any financial compensation or payouts.
- Applicants should prepare and lodge Form F72 thoroughly, including correct respondent details, supporting evidence, and paying or waiving the lodgement fee, to avoid delays.
- Most applications are dismissed if the applicant has already left the workplace or if evidence of repeated behavior or ongoing risk is weak or incomplete.
Table of Contents
- What a stop bullying order does and does not cover
- Eligibility: who may apply and common coverage rules
- How do you prepare and lodge Form F72?
- What happens after you lodge your application?
- Why do stop bullying applications get dismissed?
- What if a stop bullying order is not the right fit?
- What structured preparation actually changes
- Where to check the details yourself
- Sources
- FAQ
What a stop bullying order does and does not cover
A stop bullying order under the Fair Work Act is forward-looking. The Commission is not deciding whether you deserve compensation for what already happened. It is deciding whether there is a real risk the bullying will continue, and if so, what needs to change to stop it.
That distinction shapes everything about how these applications are assessed. The Fair Work Commission's stop bullying benchbook sets out that an applicant must be a worker in a constitutionally covered business, must show repeated unreasonable behaviour, and must demonstrate a risk that the bullying will continue. If any one of those three elements is missing, the Commission has no power to act, no matter how serious the past conduct was.
The orders themselves are practical and specific rather than punitive. A Commission member might direct that:
- The named individual stop specific behaviour, such as excessive monitoring or public criticism.
- The employer review or update its anti-bullying policy and complaint procedures.
- Staff involved complete workplace conduct training.
- Reporting lines change so the applicant no longer reports to the person named in the complaint.
- Regular monitoring or check-ins occur to confirm the behaviour has stopped.
What the Commission cannot do is order the employer or the individual to pay you money. A Full Bench decision in [2014] FWCFB 1440 confirms that these orders operate prospectively and that the Commission has no power to award pecuniary amounts to an applicant, even where the bullying has caused real harm. If you are chasing financial redress, a stop bullying application is the wrong tool, and you will need to look at other pathways covered later in this article.
Eligibility: who may apply and common coverage rules
Not everyone who feels mistreated at work can apply, and not every employer falls within the Commission's reach. The eligibility test has three moving parts, and all three need to be satisfied at the time you lodge.
- Worker status: you need to be a worker, which covers employees, contractors, subcontractors, apprentices, trainees, work experience students and, in some circumstances, volunteers.
- Constitutionally covered business: your employer needs to fall within the Commission's jurisdiction, which generally means a corporation, the Commonwealth, or a business operating in a territory; some sole traders, partnerships and certain state government bodies sit outside this depending on their structure.
- Connection to the workplace: you need to still be working there, or still connected to it in some way, when you apply.
- Ongoing risk: you need to show the bullying is likely to continue, not just that it happened in the past.
The ongoing risk requirement is where most applications succeed or fail. The stop bullying benchbook is explicit that if you have already left the workplace, whether by resignation, dismissal or the end of a contract, the Commission generally has no jurisdiction to make an order, because there is no longer a risk that the specific bullying will continue in that workplace. This catches out a lot of applicants who wait until after they have resigned to lodge, thinking the paperwork will still protect them. It usually will not.
There is also a defence force exception: members of the Australian Defence Force are excluded from this jurisdiction and need to use internal ADF complaint mechanisms instead.
How do you prepare and lodge Form F72?
Form F72 is the official application for a stop bullying order, and getting it right the first time matters, because errors or gaps can slow the process or give the other side grounds to object. Work through it in this order.
- Confirm you meet the three eligibility elements before you start filling anything in: worker status, a constitutionally covered employer, and current connection to the workplace.
- List the respondent details accurately, including the individual or individuals whose behaviour you are complaining about and their role in the business.
- Set out at least two dated examples of unreasonable behaviour, each with the date, what happened, who was present, and how it affected you or your ability to do your job safely.
- Explain the ongoing risk clearly, stating why you believe the behaviour will continue if nothing changes, not just that it happened before.
- Attach supporting evidence, grouped logically: emails and messages in one bundle, contemporaneous notes or diary entries in another, and any witness statements separately.
- Pay the lodgement fee or apply for a waiver. The Form F72 page confirms the lodgement fee for the current period is $92.70, which is adjusted annually. If paying would cause financial hardship, you can apply for a fee waiver using Form F80 at the same time.
- Lodge through the Commission's online portal or in person, and keep a copy of everything you submit.
- Prepare for service, because your application and attachments will be given to the employer and to every named respondent, usually soon after lodgement.
When you assemble your evidence, think about how a stranger reading it cold would understand your situation. A short dated chronology, one line per incident, followed by attachments grouped by type, reads far better than a long narrative with documents scattered throughout. The benchbook's guidance on evidence format backs this up: clear chronology plus a direct statement linking incidents to a risk to your health and safety improves the chances the Commission accepts jurisdiction and moves the matter to conciliation.
Pro Tip: Write your chronology before you touch the form itself. Once the incidents are laid out clearly on their own, transferring them into Form F72 takes minutes instead of hours.
The service point deserves its own moment of attention. Many applicants are surprised that the people named in their application will see it, often within days of lodgement. If you are still working alongside the person you are naming, think through what that means for your day-to-day safety and whether you need to flag anything with your manager, HR or the Workplace Advice Service beforehand. Redact anything genuinely irrelevant, but do not omit the detail the Commission needs to establish risk, since a thin application is easier to dismiss.
Before you lodge, run through a final check: does your application name a constitutionally covered employer, does it include at least two dated incidents, does it explain the ongoing risk in plain terms, and have you either paid the fee or attached Form F80? Missing any one of these is a common reason applications stall at the first review.
What happens after you lodge your application?
Once your Form F72 is in, the Commission moves through a fairly predictable sequence, though the pace depends on how contested the matter is.
| Stage | Typical timing | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Initial contact | Within about 2 weeks | The Commission contacts the parties to confirm receipt and outline next steps |
| Respondent reply | Within 7 days of contact | The employer and named individuals are asked to respond |
| Conciliation | Following initial contact | A Commission member or conciliator helps the parties try to resolve the matter |
| Hearing or arbitration | If conciliation fails | A formal hearing where a member decides whether to make orders |
| Target resolution | Around 16 weeks | Many matters resolve by this point, though complexity can extend it |
These figures come from the Fair Work Commission's own process page, which also notes that the Commission expects applicants to have tried internal workplace processes first, where it was safe to do so. If you skipped that step, be ready to explain why.
Most matters are resolved at conciliation rather than through a full hearing, and the Commission tends to favour written submissions and structured discussion over adversarial argument. If conciliation does not resolve things, the matter proceeds to a hearing, where a member can make one of the prospective orders described earlier. Decisions can be enforced, and breaching an order can carry consequences, but the Commission still cannot convert any of this into a payment to you.
Bear in mind that Commission decisions are often published. If your matter proceeds to a formal decision, expect the outcome, and sometimes significant detail about the conduct alleged, to become part of the public record.
Why do stop bullying applications get dismissed?
The most common reason an application fails has nothing to do with the merits of your complaint: it is that you have already left the workplace by the time the Commission looks at it. Once that connection is gone, so is the ongoing risk, and the stop bullying benchbook confirms the Commission generally has no jurisdiction to proceed.
Beyond that, applications tend to fail for a handful of recurring reasons:
- Thin evidence of repeated behaviour, where a single incident is described without a pattern.
- No clear link to health and safety risk, leaving the Commission unable to assess seriousness.
- Incomplete forms or missing fee paperwork, which can delay or derail an otherwise solid application.
- Jurisdictional objections, such as the employer arguing it is not constitutionally covered.
A related line of case law, including decisions such as [2015] FWCFB 6503, shows the Commission can dismiss applications early where there is no reasonable prospect of success, particularly where the ongoing risk element clearly is not met.
Pro Tip: If you suspect your employer might dispute its coverage, gather basic details about the business structure (whether it is a company, its ABN, how it is registered) before you lodge, so you are ready if a jurisdictional objection comes up.
The fix for most of this is unglamorous but effective: keep contemporaneous notes as things happen rather than reconstructing them from memory, identify anyone who witnessed the behaviour, and get advice from the Commission or a free legal service before you lodge if anything about your eligibility feels uncertain.
What if a stop bullying order is not the right fit?
A stop bullying order is not always the answer, particularly if you have already left the job or if what you are really after is financial compensation. Depending on your situation, one of these routes may fit better.
- Internal grievance and WHS regulator: raising the issue through your employer's internal process, or with your state or territory WHS regulator, can be faster and does not require you to still be employed.
- Unfair dismissal: if you have been dismissed and believe it was harsh, unjust or unreasonable, this has its own eligibility rules and a strict time limit, separate from the stop bullying jurisdiction.
- General protections: if the bullying was linked to you exercising a workplace right, such as making a complaint, this pathway can apply and, unlike unfair dismissal, is open to a broader range of workers.
- Workers compensation: if the bullying has caused a diagnosed psychological injury, a workers compensation claim, supported by medical evidence, may be the more appropriate route for financial recovery.
If you are unsure which applies, the Workplace Advice Service, legal aid, and community legal centres all provide free initial guidance and can help you work out whether a stop bullying order, an unfair dismissal claim, or a general protections application fits your facts.
What structured preparation actually changes
Most stop bullying applications that stumble do so for procedural reasons rather than a lack of merit: a missing dated example, an unclear link between an incident and safety risk, or fee paperwork left incomplete. None of that requires a weak case to fail. It requires an applicant, often dealing with real stress and limited time, to somehow also become a competent form-filler and evidence organiser overnight.
An AI-guided preparation workflow built specifically around Australian Fair Work procedures can take some of that pressure off by organising evidence chronologically, prompting for the details the Commission actually asks for, and populating the right forms with the right information in the right order. That does not replace legal advice, and it does not decide whether your case will succeed. It reduces the chance that a genuinely strong complaint gets undermined by a paperwork gap.
Whatever preparation support you use, paid or free, pair it with the Commission's own guidance and, where safety is a concern, a conversation with the Workplace Advice Service before you lodge anything.
— Nicolas
Where to check the details yourself
Start with Form F72 itself if you are ready to lodge, the process page for timing questions, and the stop bullying benchbook for the legal test in full. Legal Aid NSW covers practical outcomes and enforcement.
This article is general information, not a substitute for advice from a qualified lawyer. Consult a qualified legal professional about your own circumstances before acting on anything here.
Sources
FAQ
What is a stop bullying order?
A stop bullying order is a preventative order the Fair Work Commission can make to stop repeated unreasonable behaviour at work, rather than a payment for past harm. It is only available while you remain a worker connected to the workplace and face an ongoing risk the behaviour will continue, as set out in the Fair Work Commission's benchbook.
What are five ways to prevent bullying at work?
Common prevention measures include clear anti-bullying policies, regular staff training on respectful conduct, accessible internal reporting channels, prompt investigation of complaints, and regular monitoring of workplace culture and conduct. The Commission itself can order some of these measures, such as policy review or training, where it finds a stop bullying order is warranted.
Is there a law against bullying at work in Australia?
Workplace bullying itself is addressed through the Fair Work Act's stop bullying jurisdiction, which lets eligible workers apply to the Commission for orders to stop the behaviour, and through state and territory work health and safety laws that require employers to manage psychosocial risks. Whether a specific situation meets the legal definition depends on the facts, so check the stop bullying benchbook or seek advice for your circumstances.
How do I stop a bully at work through the Fair Work Commission?
If internal processes are not resolving it and it is safe to proceed, you can apply for a stop bullying order using Form F72, setting out at least two dated examples of unreasonable behaviour and the ongoing risk. The Commission usually makes initial contact within about two weeks and aims to resolve most matters within around 16 weeks, according to its process page.
Can I still apply if I have already left my job?
Generally, no. The Commission's jurisdiction depends on you still being connected to the workplace and facing an ongoing risk of bullying there, so leaving the job usually removes that basis, as confirmed in the stop bullying benchbook. If you have been dismissed, an unfair dismissal or general protections claim may be the more relevant option instead.
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