Without a written agreement, can you prove your contractor isn't really an employee?
A painter, a barber shop run-in, no written contract, and a Fair Work hearing. The 5 March 2026 ruling tests the Closing Loopholes classification framework.
When Sanel Novo bumped into Joel Di Lizio of DiLizio Painting at a barber shop in Carina Heights, Queensland in March 2024, what followed was a working arrangement built almost entirely on text messages. No employment contract. No contractor agreement. Just an agreed hourly rate and job-site instructions sent via phone.
More than a year later, it ended badly. Following a workplace injury in June 2024 and a successful Workers' Compensation claim, Novo returned to work in early 2025 under a suitable duties plan. On 14 August 2025, Di Lizio arrived at a University of Queensland worksite to find Novo working on a ladder, contrary to his return-to-work restrictions. An exchange followed, and Novo claimed he was told he "no longer had a place" with the company. He brought a general protections application before the Fair Work Commission, alleging he had been an employee all along.
The Commission disagreed. Commissioner Spencer, in Brisbane, dismissed the application on 5 March 2026, finding Novo was an independent contractor, and that no dismissal under the Fair Work Act 2009 had occurred.
The decision applies section 15AA of the Fair Work Act, introduced by the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024, which...
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