This opinion article by Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Bran Black was published in The Herald Sun on 20 February 2026
Victoria has an investment competitiveness problem. And the discovery of the CFMEU’s abuse of public funds is only going to worsen it. We need a royal commission into where Big Build funds have disappeared to restore investor confidence.
This matters because Victorians end up paying higher costs and we lose investment opportunities in the future. That means lost jobs, fewer services and less tax paid.
The Business Council’s latest Regulation Rumble report showed Victoria is already dead last in Australia for business settings with uncompetitive payroll taxes, property taxes and onerous licensing requirements.
And that’s before you layer on the reputational damage from the CFMEU scandal engulfing Victoria. Allegations of bikie infiltration. Allegations of coercion.
Allegations of violence and intimidation. Allegations of billions in taxpayer money being siphoned off through corrupt practices. Allegations of $15 billion misspent.
Investors look at risk signals, certainty and governance. And right now, Victoria is sending precisely the wrong message.
If you are a global board deciding whether to deploy capital to Adelaide, Perth, Singapore or Texas, what do you see when you look at Victoria: An uncompetitive regulatory and tax burden and now questions about whether major government contracts have been captured and gamed for self-enrichment.
That’s not a recipe for attracting investment, it’s a recipe for driving it away.
The CFMEU allegations must be fully and independently investigated.
A royal commission can do what IBAC cannot. It can compel any witness to give evidence under oath, require the production of documents across public and private entities and trace financial flows wherever taxpayer funds travel.
That breadth matters when allegations involve subcontracting chains, undue influence, criminality, coercion and potential cost blowouts funded by the public purse.
That is precisely why a royal commission is needed.
We need a strong construction sector with well-paid, highly skilled workers and safe worksites. But we also need competitive markets, integrity and trust in our institutions. Victoria has a lot of work to do to climb back up the competitiveness ladder. Cleaning up the Big Build and stamping out corruption would be one of many very good places to start.