How to Apply to the Fair Work Commission for a Right to Disconnect Dispute
Learn when an employee or employer can take a right to disconnect dispute to the Fair Work Commission, how to use Form F92 and what the Commission can order.
AU Australia
Work & Retirement ~ 8 min read
8 FAQ
Updated 2026-09-21
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An employee or employer can apply to the Fair Work Commission about a right to disconnect dispute only after trying to resolve the dispute through discussions at the workplace. Use Form F92 if you want the Commission to make a stop order, deal with the dispute in another way, or both. The application can be emailed or sent or delivered to a Commission office. The Commission aims to resolve most right to disconnect cases within 16 weeks, although this is an administrative target rather than a guaranteed deadline.
What you need
- You must be an employee or employer involved in a dispute about the employee right to disconnect.
- You must have tried to resolve the dispute through discussions at the workplace before applying to the Fair Work Commission.
- Use Form F92 – Application to deal with a dispute about the employee right to disconnect.
- Prepare your contact details, your representative's details if applicable, details of the other party, an explanation of the dispute, what has happened so far and what you want the Commission to do.
- Choose whether you are asking for a stop order, for the Commission to deal with the dispute in another way, or both.
Eligibility
An employee or employer can use Form F92 where there is a dispute about the employee's right to disconnect and discussions at the workplace have not resolved it. The right protects employees who refuse to monitor, read or respond to work-related contact or attempted contact outside their working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable. The right applies to employees of non-small business employers from 26 August 2024 and employees of small business employers from 26 August 2025, so it applies to both groups in 2026.
How to do it
- Discuss the right to disconnect issue at the workplace and genuinely try to resolve it with the other party.
- Check the employee's award or enterprise agreement because it may contain additional right to disconnect provisions.
- If the dispute remains unresolved, download and complete Form F92.
- Provide the parties' details, explain what the dispute is about and what has already happened, and state what you want the Commission to do.
- Choose whether you seek a stop order, another form of assistance with the dispute, or both.
- Lodge Form F92 with the Fair Work Commission by email to the address specified on the official Form F92 page, or send or deliver the form to a Commission office.
- After lodgement, the Commission sends a copy to the other party and asks them to respond within 7 days.
- Follow the Commission's directions. Where the dispute is being dealt with in other ways, the Commission will usually first hold a conference to try to resolve it.
What does the right to disconnect protect?
Under the Fair Work Act 2009, an employee may refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact from their employer outside their working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable. The same protection applies to work-related contact or attempted contact from a third party.
The rules do not make all out-of-hours contact unlawful. The legal question is whether the employee's refusal to monitor, read or respond to that contact is unreasonable in the circumstances.
The right has applied since 26 August 2024 for employees of non-small business employers and since 26 August 2025 for employees of small business employers. All modern awards also contain a right to disconnect clause, and enterprise agreements may contain relevant provisions.
When can refusing out-of-hours contact be unreasonable?
The Fair Work Act requires relevant circumstances to be considered. The Fair Work Ombudsman identifies factors including:
- the reason for the contact or attempted contact;
- how the contact is made and how disruptive it is;
- how much the employee is compensated or paid extra to remain available or work additional hours;
- the employee's role and level of responsibility; and
- the employee's personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities.
Other matters may also be relevant. An employee's refusal is unreasonable if the contact or attempted contact is required by law.
The right also does not mean that an employee who is working overtime or is on call can automatically ignore required contact. The applicable award, enterprise agreement, employment arrangements and circumstances should be checked.
What must you do before applying to the Commission?
You cannot go straight to Form F92 without first attempting to resolve the right to disconnect dispute at work. The Fair Work Commission states that an employee and employer must try to resolve the dispute through workplace discussions before an application is made.
Discuss the disputed contact, when it occurs, why it is occurring, the employee's working hours and availability, and the expectations of both parties. It is also important to check any applicable award or enterprise agreement because these can contain additional right to disconnect provisions.
If the issue concerns working arrangements more broadly rather than a right to disconnect dispute, a separate process may be relevant. Employees who need to change when or where they work can read how to request flexible working arrangements from an employer.
When can you use Form F92?
Use Form F92 – Application to deal with a dispute about the employee right to disconnect when:
- you are the employer or employee involved in the dispute;
- you have tried to resolve it through discussions at the workplace but those discussions did not resolve it; and
- you want the Commission to make a stop order, deal with the dispute in another way, or both.
Before completing the form, have ready your contact details, your representative's contact details if you have one, details of the other party, what the dispute is about, what has happened so far and what you want the Commission to do.
What stop order can the Commission make?
The type of stop order depends on who applies and the circumstances.
An employer can ask the Commission for an order preventing an employee from continuing to unreasonably refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact.
An employee can seek an order where their refusal is not unreasonable to stop the employer from:
- continuing to require the employee to monitor, read or respond to the contact or attempted contact; or
- taking disciplinary or other action against the employee because the employer believes the refusal is unreasonable.
A stop order is not the only option. The applicant can instead ask the Commission to deal with the dispute in another way, or request both forms of assistance.
Can the Commission help resolve the dispute without making a stop order?
Yes. The Commission can deal with a right to disconnect dispute in other ways. It will usually start with a conference to try to help the employer and employee resolve the matter. During a conference, a Commission Member may mediate or conciliate, make a recommendation or express an opinion.
If the parties agree, a Commission Member can also arbitrate the dispute. The Commission provides Form F92B for notifying it that the parties agree to arbitration where an application has been made for the Commission to deal with the dispute in a way other than only making a stop order.
How do you lodge the right to disconnect application?
The Fair Work Commission currently instructs applicants to lodge the completed Form F92 by email. The form can also be sent or delivered to a Commission office. Use the current lodgement details shown on the Commission's official Form F92 page when you submit the application.
The Commission's current fee schedule lists the applications that attract an application fee and does not list Form F92. Accordingly, no Form F92 application fee is currently specified by the Commission.
What happens after you apply?
After receiving Form F92, the Commission sends a copy of the application to the other party and asks them to respond within 7 days. The Commission then contacts the parties about the next steps.
The Commission states that it aims to resolve most right to disconnect cases within 16 weeks of receiving the application. This is a service aim for its case process, not a guaranteed deadline for an individual matter.
What if an employee is punished for exercising the right?
The right to disconnect is a workplace right under the Fair Work Act. An employer must not take adverse action against an employee because of the employee's workplace rights. Adverse action can include dismissal, demotion or being overlooked for promotion.
A general protections dispute is a different legal route from a Form F92 right to disconnect dispute. If an employee has been dismissed for a prohibited reason, the relevant process may instead be a general protections dismissal application; Helpydo explains the separate process for general protections after dismissal. If the issue is whether the dismissal itself was harsh, unjust or unreasonable, the separate unfair dismissal process may be relevant instead.
What should you check before lodging the application?
- Try to resolve the dispute internally first. This is a prerequisite for Form F92.
- Check the employee's modern award or enterprise agreement for additional right to disconnect provisions.
- Explain the actual contact or attempted contact and why the refusal is said to be reasonable or unreasonable.
- Distinguish a request for a stop order from a request for the Commission to help resolve the wider dispute.
- Do not assume every out-of-hours message breaches the law. The statutory right concerns the employee's ability to refuse contact unless that refusal is unreasonable.
- If the dispute involves adverse action or dismissal, check whether the general protections provisions provide a separate or more appropriate route.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to speak to my employer before filing a right to disconnect application?
Yes. The Fair Work Commission requires the employer and employee to try to resolve the dispute through discussions at the workplace before Form F92 is used.
Can an employer apply to the Fair Work Commission about the right to disconnect?
Yes. Form F92 can be used by either an employer or an employee after workplace discussions have failed to resolve the dispute.
Can the Fair Work Commission order an employee to stop refusing contact?
Yes. An employer can seek a stop order preventing an employee from continuing to unreasonably refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact.
Can an employee get an order stopping an employer from requiring out-of-hours contact?
Potentially. Where the employee's refusal is not unreasonable, the employee can seek an order stopping the employer from continuing to require the employee to monitor, read or respond, or from taking disciplinary or other action because of the refusal.
Is there a fee to lodge Form F92?
The Fair Work Commission's current fee schedule does not list Form F92 among the applications that require an application fee.
How long does a Fair Work Commission right to disconnect case take?
The Commission says it aims to resolve most right to disconnect cases within 16 weeks of receiving the application. This is an administrative aim and not a guaranteed deadline for every case.
Does the right to disconnect mean my employer cannot contact me after work?
No. The rules do not prohibit out-of-hours contact. They give an employee the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to work-related contact outside working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable.
What happens after I lodge Form F92?
The Commission sends a copy of the application to the other party, asks them to respond within 7 days and then contacts the parties about the next steps.
Official sources
Fair Work Commission - Apply to deal with a dispute about the right to disconnect (Form F92)Fair Work Commission - Disputes about the right to disconnectFair Work Commission - How we deal with right to disconnect disputesFair Work Commission - Fees and costsFair Work Ombudsman - Right to disconnectFederal Register of Legislation - Fair Work Act 2009Fair Work Commission - Notification of agreement to arbitration of a right to disconnect dispute (Form F92B)Related procedures
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