A former Services Australia worker dismissed after she was jailed on terrorism funding charges has failed to force the Fair Work Commission to consider her case.
Linda Merhi, 43, spent nearly two years in prison before being discharged by a court over five charges of knowingly collecting funds for terrorist organisation Islamic State.
Upon her release in November 2019, she emailed her boss about her job and found she'd been sacked in July of that year.
But she didn't file an unfair dismissal claim until February 2020 - well beyond the standard three-week deadline for such applications.
Federal Court Justice Anna Katzmann on Friday dismissed Ms Merhi's bid to have the Fair Work Commission consider the case.
The court on Wednesday heard Ms Merhi's lawyer had been unable to point any case law supporting his contention that the case had "exceptional circumstances".
"She was physically capable of (working) but, because of the due process, could not attend her employment," lawyer Michael Ayache told the court on Wednesday.
"Persons in her position would benefit from guidance about whether a person subject to due process (is) capable of being dismissed."
The Full Bench of the FWC had earlier ruled Ms Merhi's application was filed well past the deadline, even if the clock was started when she called and emailed her employer in December 2020.
It also said a finding that the case was "unusual" didn't mean it was of the "exceptional circumstances" that permitted the commission to ignore the delayed filing and hear the case.
