Cost reduction target a genuine reason for making accountant redundant, FWC rules

An accountant has failed to win an unfair dismissal case after the Fair Work Commission ruled her dismissal from the faith-based charity she worked for was a genuine redundancy.

Last Wednesday (14 January), the Fair Work Commission (FWC) ruled that Uyen Phan, an assistant accountant who formerly worked for faith-based charity Wesley Mission, was not unfairly dismissed.

Phan’s former manager, financial controller Mia Soejanto, argued that Phan had been dismissed as a part of a cost-cutting initiative driven by the loss of a major government tender.

According to Soejanto, Wesley Mission had been part of a national consortium providing the Escaping Violence Payment (EVP) program, a government-funded service seeking to support domestic violence victim-survivors.

In 2025, Wesley Mission was unsuccessful in its tender for the Leaving Violence Payment (LVP) program, which was due to replace the EVP program from 1 July 2025. The loss of this program led to an annual reduction of $77,000,000 in the charity’s total annual operating income, Soejanto said.

In response, the executive leadership team imposed a cost reduction target of 11 per cent per year on support services in the organisation, including Wesley Finance.

To meet this cost-cutting target, Soejanto told the FWC she decided to make three positions in the corporate finance team redundant. This included an asset and accounts payable manager, an accounts receivable clerk, and Phan’s assistant accountant position.

However, Phan argued that her work had not been eliminated, but simply fragmented and redistributed. She estimated that 89 per cent of her duties were still being performed.

Despite this, the FWC said it was satisfied that Phan’s duties had been either redistributed, streamlined, automated or no longer required. It added that this did not mean that Phan’s job was still required.

“It is clear on the material before me, most obviously, the Task Analysis Summary, that [Wesley Mission] no longer required Mrs Phan’s job to be performed by anyone,” court documents said.

“I accept Ms Soejanto’s uncontested evidence that the loss of the EVP/LVP program was the catalyst for the … cost reduction target of 11 per cent each year. I am satisfied this cost reduction target was the reason for Mrs Phan’s redundancy.”

Overall, 110 jobs were lost across the organisation, the FWC noted. It added that Phan’s dismissal could be “comfortably characterised” as a genuine redundancy caused by changes in operational requirements.

Case citation: Mrs Uyen Phan v Wesley Mission - [2026] FWC 109

Emma Partis

Emma Partis is a journalist at HR Leader. Previously, Emma worked as a News Intern with Bloomberg News' economics and government team in Sydney. She studied econometrics and psychology at UNSW.