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An employee's complaints against two colleagues weren't covered by the Fair Work Act's general protections provisions, and his dismissal wasn't unlawful, the Federal Circuit Court has found.

The complaints didn't "seek an industrial outcome of some sort"; they were merely comments about colleagues' conduct and how it affected the employer's service standards, Judge Robert Cameron said.

The community support worker lodged his adverse action claim after he was sacked by Sunnyfield Disability Services for code of conduct breaches.

The employer told the Court that its HR business partner and regional manager decided to dismiss the employee because he'd failed to meet his duty of care to a client who required constant supervision, and because he wasn't able to perform his role to the required standard...