Fair Work Commission moves to appoint administrators into construction division of CFMEU

The Fair Work Commission’s general manager, Murray Furlong, is moving to appoint administrators into the construction division of the CFMEU, following a string of allegations of nefarious behaviour.

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke announced on Wednesday that Furlong was seeking legal advice on applying to the federal court to do so, and the government would “intervene to ensure the proceedings are successful”.

If the proceedings were challenged and unresolved when parliament resumes on August 12, the government would bring in legislation to enable the commission “to put any part of the construction division of the CFMEU into administration,” Burke said.

“The government will ensure the regulator has all the powers it needs to appoint administrators.”

The general manager of the Fair Work Commission is the independent statutory regulator of federally registered organisations.

Burke has also asked the Fair Work Ombudsman to do a “targeted review” of all enterprise agreements the Victorian branch of the CFMEU’s construction division had made applying to the state’s “Big Build” projects.

Burke said the government was seeking information on coercive behaviour. It did not intend any action that would put at risk workers’ employment conditions. “This is not their fault,” he said.

He said the government would use its procurement powers to ensure enterprise agreements on government-funded projects were genuine – free of coercion and intimidation.

He has also asked the Australian Federal Police to investigate allegations, working with state police.

The allegations, revealed in Nine media, include thuggery, kickbacks, standover tactics, and the parachuting of senior bikie figures into lucrative union delegate roles on major Victorian construction projects.

Notably, the Albanese government has decided not to appoint administrators itself.

“What I’m wanting to do is make sure this is a process under the regulator and not a political process,” Burke said.

The government’s response is in contrast to the Gillard government’s action in 2012 when then-Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten directly intervened against the scandal-ridden Health Services Union to have an administrator, former judge Michael Moore, brought in.

Under criticism for not having acted earlier against the rogue construction division, Burke argued the allegations that organised crime had infiltrated the union was new information.

He said this was something “I had not been previously briefed on”.

Pressed on whether he had never heard of the allegations he said, “Not in terms of organised crime, no. The organised crime issue – it was published as an exclusive [in Nine’s reports]. That was because this was new information.”

Furlong said in a statement he was “deeply concerned about the alleged conduct and commentary that organised crime has infiltrated several state branches of the Division, including that it appears to be embedded and ongoing.”

As well as seeking advice on the application to the federal court, “I have also commenced sharing information with other regulatory and law enforcement authorities and requesting evidence about alleged contraventions from a wide variety of participants in the building and construction industry.

"While the alleged criminal conduct reported in the media falls outside of my jurisdiction, alleged conduct involving repeated, opportunistic or deliberate contraventions of the RO (Registered Organisations) Act, including misappropriation of funds or unlawful conduct of elected officials, will be met by swift, well-resourced and significant enforcement action.”

The opposition has called for the union’s deregistration. But Burke said this would leave an organisation “still capable of bargaining and doing the entire business model we’ve been seeing reported over recent days with no layer of regulation or additional oversight”.

“It would be a gift to the worst elements.”