Complain about a lawyer or paid agent

Some people have had bad experiences with the lawyers and paid agents they asked to represent them at the Commission. They have told us about lawyers or paid agents who:

• did not respond to repeated phone calls, messages or emails
• did not pass settlement money onto them
• threatened to sue or charge them money if they complained to anyone about their ‘experience’.

Make sure you choose your lawyer or paid agent carefully. See our Tips to choose and pay a lawyer or paid agent.

Note: Employees of the Commission do not offer legal advice. We do not have lawyers or paid agents that you can hire.

We provide tips to help you choose a lawyer or paid agent. You can also check to identify a scam.

Know who your lawyer or paid agent works for

A lawyer or paid or paid agent may be a scammer if they advertise that:

• they work for us
• we endorse or recommend their services.

Contact us if a lawyer or paid agent tells you any of these things.

Lawyers who volunteer for the Workplace Advice Service are different

Lawyers who give legal advice through the Workplace Advice Service work for organisations that have an agreement with us.

We do not pay these organisations to partner with us. They are independent businesses or services who volunteer their time.

If you have a complaint about a Workplace Advice Service lawyer, contact the legal firm they are from.

Know if you are speaking to someone from the Commission

If you are not sure whether someone you have spoken to is from the Commission, contact us.

Check the email address: Commission email addresses end in ‘@fwc.gov.au’. We never use social media to contact you.

Check the web address: Check the website you are on. Our website is www.fwc.gov.au. If the website address ends in ‘.com.au’, ‘.com’ or ‘.org’, it is not us.

Know what you are being charged for Commission services: Some types of applications to the Commission have an application fee. There are no other fees or charges to use our resources and services.

Check for possible scams and misconduct:

• with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
• with the consumer protection agency in your state or territory
• by searching for any decisions about a company or individual.

You may be worried about the conduct of a lawyer or paid agent, or a possible scam. If so, contact the consumer protection agency or law society in your state or territory. We are not able to give you advice in this situation.

• The ACCC – submit an online enquiry or report a consumer issue.
• Your state or territory law society – if your complaint is about a lawyer.
• Your state or territory consumer protection agency:

ACT: Access Canberra

NSW: NSW Fair Trading

NT: NT Consumer Affairs

Qld: Office of Fair Trading Queensland

SA: SA Office of Consumer and Business Services (CBS)

Tas: Tasmania Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)

Vic: Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV)

WA: WA Consumer Protection - Department Of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.