There have been 25 additional allegations of fraud, corruption, theft and criminal behaviour on Victorian government infrastructure building sites since May, as the royal commission into the construction sector gets underway.
Since the beginning of the year, contractors on public construction projects have been required to report potential criminal behaviour, thanks to new regulations in response to revelations in this masthead of widespread fraud and criminality across the state’s building sector.
New figures released on Tuesday by the federal infrastructure department have revealed there are now 84 allegations of criminal, corruption or other “material unacceptable behaviour” on projects that receive Commonwealth funding. These are not findings of wrongdoing but reports that have been made to authorities.
This includes 27 new allegations that had not been made in May, when the data was last provided to Senate estimates. Of these, 25 were in Victoria.
The state royal commission into the construction industry was announced after organised crime infiltration of the CFMEU and the government’s Big Build program was uncovered by The Age and 60 Minutes.
The Building Bad investigation revealed allegations of sexual exploitation of women, drug trafficking, systemic corruption and bribery that cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Funding guidelines now require states to report to the Commonwealth when serious allegations are made to authorities and under investigation, if they relate to projects receiving federal cash.
This data was first reported publicly in May, when it was revealed that 11 of the biggest infrastructure projects in Victoria – including the multibillion-dollar Suburban Rail Loop and North East Link – were subject to most of the nation’s allegations.
Newly updated figures provided on Tuesday show there are now 75 allegations in Victoria, up from 56 in May, with some complaints referring to multiple projects but counting as one allegation in the state’s total.
The North East Link had the highest number of allegations of any project with 46 reports, including 19 made since May.
The toll road includes several consortiums of builders and multibillion-dollar contracts, including a tunnel and series of overhead roads and connections to the Eastern Freeway and M80 Ring Road.
Suburban Rail Loop East, an underground railway between Cheltenham and Box Hill, had 14 reports, an increase of four since the last update.
Both projects have received allegations of fraud, corruption, criminal behaviour, breach of workplace laws, and undisclosed conflicts of interest.
Another two reports of fraud came from unspecified projects in Victoria.
The figures reflect a different environment in Victoria’s construction sector compared to July 2024, when The Age’s Building Bad investigation began exposing allegations of graft, criminal infiltration and misconduct across the state’s transport infrastructure sites.
After warnings that whistleblowers were being ignored, a centralised referral service has been set up for the construction sector and is maintained by the Workforce Inspectorate, which also runs awareness campaigns.
On Monday, the commission announced it would hold its first block of public hearings from November 9 to November 20.
Shadow Attorney-General James Newbury said 90 per cent of allegations about federal projects were in Victoria.
“Victorians deserve to know their hard-earned taxes are being spent properly, not ending up in the pockets of criminals,” he said.
“Every allegation must be properly investigated, and those responsible must be held to account.”
Speaking at a pre-election lunch held by the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Carroll again drew attention to his decision to call a royal commission.
He also defended the state’s Big Build, while saying he wanted to pivot the state’s focus to developing economic growth and productivity.
“Our $160 billion of debt is half a trillion dollars in assets. We have built the state for the future, and I am shifting from the Big Build to the social build,” he said.
At the same event, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said over the past decade Labor had confused government spending with the broader economy.