The Business Council calls on the Senate to block the Federal Government’s workplace relations legislation being rushed through Parliament today, after new reporting alleged taxpayer money is still flowing to underworld figures on Victorian government projects.
The Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Building Cooperative Workplaces No. 1) Bill 2026 would allow the Federal Government to favour businesses with union-covered enterprise agreements when awarding government contracts and grants. This would open a pathway to the type of corruption risks exposed in Victoria and Queensland.
Business Council Chief Executive Bran Black said the legislation raises a serious integrity risk that should alarm every Australian business and taxpayer.
“The Federal Government is using this bill to rewrite the rules for how public money can be awarded in this country, and we should not allow that to occur,” Mr Black said.
“Once industrial arrangements become a factor in access to government-funded work, they carry commercial value. That creates greater risk of improper pressure, preferential treatment and potential corruption. We have seen exactly where that can lead.”
New reporting by 60 Minutes, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age alleges, based on leaked records, that payments from Big Build subcontractors to underworld figures are still flowing in 2026.
Geoffrey Watson SC’s Rotting from the Top report found that in Victorian construction, control over enterprise agreements and access to major public projects could turn enterprise agreements into corruption gateways, excluding legitimate businesses from the market and opening the door to organised crime.
“What we have seen play out in Victoria was facilitated by a system in which access to taxpayer-funded work, sites and subcontracting opportunities could be influenced by corrupt unions and preferred intermediaries. This bill creates an opening for similar conditions to emerge nationally.”
“Watson documented exactly how this corruption works and the Big Build has shown what it costs. We are deeply concerned that passing this bill today risks repeating those mistakes across Commonwealth-funded sectors and supply chains.”
“At the very least, the Senate should support Senator David Pocock’s amendment. It would stop the Bill’s procurement changes taking effect until the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner has had the chance to examine the risks, or has told Parliament no inquiry will proceed,” Mr Black said.