The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) have jointly called for a Royal Commission into corruption and criminal conduct in Victoria’s building and construction industry, pointing to the ongoing influence of the CFMEU.
The two peak bodies, which together represent hundreds of thousands of businesses across the state and nation, released a set of urgent recommendations this week aimed at addressing what they describe as entrenched unlawful behaviour, coercion and intimidation within the sector.
Alongside the call for a Royal Commission, the organisations want Victoria Police granted enhanced investigative powers, including the ability to “follow the money” and pursue unexplained wealth linked to criminal activity.
They are also seeking expanded powers for law enforcement agencies more broadly, including the authority to compel witnesses and suspects to cooperate with investigations.
Other recommendations include reinstating a strong national watchdog, similar to the former Australian Building and Construction Commission or Fair Work Building and Construction, and adopting a strengthened Victorian Construction Code.
The groups also want the “Fit and Proper Person” test for Right of Entry permits tightened, to ensure appropriate standards of conduct are maintained on worksites.
ACCI and VCCI argue the building and construction sector underpins Victoria’s economic future, from housing delivery to major infrastructure projects, and that confidence in the industry is essential for investment, productivity and growth. Both organisations say urgent action is now required to restore and protect the industry.
Victorian Chamber Chief Executive Sally Curtain said the state could not continue to tolerate a system where criminal conduct had become embedded.
“Victoria cannot afford to tolerate a system in which criminal behaviour is embedded, costs are inflated and lawful businesses are at a disadvantage,” said Curtain.
Curtain said the vast majority of people working in the sector were honest and deserved better protection. She noted that confidence in the industry had eroded over time, and that restoring it would require clearer rules, stronger enforcement and genuine political commitment.
According to Curtain, the problems have already been well documented through evidence and previous inquiries, meaning the priority now must shift to implementation. She added there was no place for crime or corruption in the industry, and no excuse for continued inaction.
ACCI Chief Executive Officer Andrew McKellar was equally direct in his criticism, saying corruption involving the CFMEU had been allowed to continue unchecked for too long.
He said the scandal had squandered enormous sums of taxpayer money while entrenching a culture of intimidation on construction sites across the country.
McKellar described the construction industry as one of the most important in Australia, but said the CFMEU’s influence had left it fundamentally compromised.
He argued that only a transparent, well-resourced process with genuine investigative and enforcement power could remove the corruption from the industry.
“Only a serious and transparent process, backed by strong investigative and enforcement powers, can root out this corruption.”
McKellar called on regulators and law enforcement bodies to be given every power and resource necessary to expose and eliminate corruption wherever it exists.
“Law enforcement agencies and regulators must be given all the necessary powers and resources required to expose and eliminate corruption, wherever it is.”
The joint call from ACCI and VCCI adds to mounting pressure on state and federal governments to address long-standing concerns about criminal influence in the construction sector, following a series of inquiries and investigations into the CFMEU’s conduct in recent years.
Business leaders say the coming months will be critical in determining whether genuine reform follows, or whether the industry’s problems are left to persist.
