Big Build royal commission LIVE updates: Big Build project, CFMEU under microscope as state’s long-awaited construction royal commission begins

A royal commission is a government-established inquiry into serious or complex matters of public concern. Its purpose is to gather evidence, test competing accounts, identify failures and recommend changes. Unlike an ordinary investigation, it can use compulsory powers. These powers make participation mandatory, even when witnesses or organisations would prefer not to cooperate.

In this inquiry, counsel assisting Chris Young said more than 20 Gap Road witnesses had been compelled to attend. Documents were also obtained through compulsory production powers. The commission warned that threatening witnesses, punishing workers for giving information, pressuring testimony or destroying evidence could be serious criminal offences.

A commission can make findings and recommendations, and may refer suspected criminal conduct to police or other authorities. It must still provide procedural fairness. Young said nobody can face an adverse finding unless they know its basis and have had an opportunity to respond. The article does not state the commission's final powers beyond this process.

Victoria’s Big Build refers to the state’s large program of public construction projects. The article presents the Gap Road project as a case study within the royal commission’s wider examination of construction-sector conduct. Its importance comes from the alleged interaction between contractors, the CFMEU, labour hire, safety roles, work stoppages and state contracts.

The hearing was told that responses gathered by the commission identified seven themes relevant to the Gap Road case. They included alleged use of safety and entry powers as industrial leverage, labour hire arrangements, missed deadlines, disputed payments and the allocation of industrial-relations risk. Some allegations were expressly denied, and Young stressed that submissions were not evidence.

The article does not describe Gap Road’s location, cost, timetable or physical works. It does say contractors reported alleged unlawful or corrupt conduct through project notices and progress reports. The inquiry will test those claims, examine the state’s response and consider possible reforms for future public projects.

The inquiry’s scale is visible in both its compulsory evidence and its wider request for information. Counsel assisting Chris Young said the commission would hear from more than 20 witnesses in the Gap Road case. Every one of those witnesses was compelled to attend, so none chose whether to give evidence.

The commission also wrote to 99 companies, organisations and other entities. It invited early written submissions about any corruption, criminal conduct or serious misconduct relevant to the inquiry. Young said half responded. The article does not give the exact number of responses, so it is safest to describe the total as approximately half of 99.

The evidence base therefore combines compulsory testimony and documents with responses from participating entities. Young cautioned that the themes drawn from those responses were allegations, not evidence. The commission must test them, allow affected people to respond and avoid adverse findings without procedural fairness.

The CFMEU is the Construction, Forestry and Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, a large Australian trade union representing workers across several industries, including construction. As a union, it can represent members in workplace negotiations and industrial disputes. The article places its construction role at the centre of allegations about power on major public projects.

Young said responses pointed to a tight labour market and alleged that CFMEU influence affected how sites operated. Claims included safety and entry powers being used as leverage, representatives being appointed at the CFMEU’s request, and contractors being pressed to accept labour or other demands. Some companies denied allegations made against them.

The CFMEU’s role is therefore an issue the commission will examine, not a concluded finding. The article says entries and stoppages were alleged to have increased after the Australian Building and Construction Commission was defunded and abolished. The inquiry will test those claims and consider stronger oversight or licensing.

The inquiry is examining alleged conduct that could turn workplace rights and commercial arrangements into bargaining power. Young said submissions raised concerns about safety and entry powers being used to stop critical work or secure demands. He also described claims that labour hire placed non-working health and safety representatives on sites and gave enterprise agreements commercial value.

The proposed mechanism was disruption. Contractors reportedly faced missed-deadline penalties, while some said they paid disputed claims during site disruption. Others allegedly replaced subcontractors and paid significantly more for labour after CFMEU demands. The article also says safety representatives were sometimes appointed at the CFMEU’s request without an election, although these claims remain untested.

Young stressed that these themes came from submissions, not evidence, and some were expressly denied. The commission will examine the claims alongside state action, contract design and regulatory gaps. Suggested reforms include licensing, integrity checks for safety roles, regulator validation of disputed stop-work directions and protection for reporters.

If the commission finds evidence of corruption, criminal conduct or serious misconduct, it can make findings, recommend reforms and refer suspected offences to police or another authority. A royal commission does not itself impose criminal convictions. Its work can nevertheless shape prosecutions, disciplinary action, contracts and government policy.

Compulsory powers mean witnesses must attend and organisations must produce requested documents. At Gap Road, Young said every witness had been compelled and the documents were gathered compulsorily. The law also protects the process: threatening or intimidating a witness, punishing a worker for cooperating, pressuring false evidence or destroying evidence can be serious criminal offences.

Procedural fairness limits how conclusions are reached. Young said no adverse finding can be made unless the affected person knows the basis and has an opportunity to respond. The article does not state any final finding or penalty. It describes an inquiry still testing allegations and gathering evidence, with possible referrals and reforms ahead.

A tight labour market gives workers and influential representatives more bargaining power because replacing labour can be difficult. Construction contracts add pressure when missed deadlines trigger penalties. Contractors may therefore choose a costly settlement or replacement workforce instead of contesting a demand that could stop work.

Young described this mechanism in the Gap Road themes. Some contractors allegedly paid disputed claims during disruption. Others allegedly replaced subcontractors and paid significantly more for labour. He also said contracts could share industrial-disruption costs with the state or pass them on, reducing a contractor’s incentive to resist. Contractors might accept demands to protect the program and price the expected cost into bids.

The result can be higher project costs, delay risk or both. The article says the commission is examining contract design, state action and regulatory gaps. Possible reforms include a dedicated regulator, licensing, validated stop-work directions and protection for people who report concerns. These measures could clarify responsibility and reduce hidden disruption costs.