Conferences are usually the first step in resolving general protections dismissal disputes. At the conference, a Commission Member or staff conciliator guides a discussion between the parties. It is a confidential process.
A conference is usually the first step in the general protections dismissal process. We organise a date and time for the conference as soon as possible after we receive an:
We send the date and time to both parties. Unless you ask us to change it, and we agree, you must take part. We will only change the date and time if you have an important reason why you cannot take part.
If you want to delay or change the conference, you must ask us for an adjournment.
At a general protections dismissal conference a Commission Member or staff conciliator guides a discussion between the parties. The conference is usually held via an online meeting.
Conciliators do not give legal advice, decide what happened or who is right or wrong. Read more about the role of a conciliator.
The conference is less formal than a hearing. The Commission Member or conciliator will work with both parties to resolve the issue. It will usually take up to 2 hours. You don’t need to prepare evidence or submissions.
When you resolve the dispute at the conference, we do not publish anything about the outcome of the dispute on the website. If you cannot resolve the case, a Member of the Commission will decide whether to issue the applicant with a certificate. The applicant can then decide whether to apply to a federal court about the same dispute.
If an employer has a jurisdictional objection, a Commission Member will decide the objection first. The Member may schedule a jurisdictional hearing to decide the objection.
If the Member decides the objection is valid, the case will be dismissed. If the Member decides there is no valid objection, a conference will be scheduled with a Member or a staff conciliator.
See Object to a general protections dismissal claim for more information.
Start preparing at least 1 week before the conference.