The Fair Work Commission has dismissed a general protections application brought by an applicant employee against his former employer under section 35 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The applicant’s application was refused at the outset due to the lengthy delay in filing and due to his reliance on ChatGPT.
The applicant resigned from his employment on 19 October 2022.
In 2025, more than 900 days later, he then lodged an application alleging dismissal in contravention of the general protection provisions of the Fair Work Act.
His employer opposed the application on the basis that the applicant had resigned and was not dismissed.
Given the 21-day time limit from the date of dismissal for commencing general protections claims, the applicant sought an extension of time to bring the application under section 366(1)(b), alleging ignorance of his workplace rights and fear of retribution. He confirmed during a conference that his claim relied heavily upon advice he had received from the artificial intelligence (AI) large language model ChatGPT.
The Commission found that ignorance of the law is not an excuse for an extension of time. Further, the applicant’s claimed fear of retribution was unsupported by evidence.
The application contained clear deficiencies, including an extract from ChatGPT’s advice which suggested commencing various legal actions including the section 365 application. The Commission found this advice to have “no basis”. The Commission also noted the dangers of relying on AI for legal advice and described the claim as “hopeless”.
The Commission concluded that allowing the matter to proceed after such a long delay would unfairly prejudice the employer and be a waste of the Commission’s resources, so the application was dismissed.
Whilst this case is helpful to confirm that employers are entitled to finality and should not face stale claims years after termination, it demonstrates the difficulty that employers face as a result of AI and the rise of litigation.
We are seeing more and more claims being commenced by employees with the assistance of AI, as they are using tools such as ChatGPT to identify potential avenues for claims. More employees are also taking claims to hearing because they can use ChatGPT to help prepare their case.
This increases the importance for employers to follow best practice and get advice when managing and terminating employees, to be able to effectively defend claims.
Employers should also keep thorough records of employee exits and be prepared to raise limitation arguments if claims are lodged out of time by disgruntled ex-employees.
Decision: Mr Branden Deysel v Electra Lift Co. [2025] FWC 2289
Need help responding to an unfair dismissal or general protections claim? Talk to our Workplace Relations team today.
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This article was co-written by Tegan Hill, Law Graduate, Corporate Commercial.