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

The first block of public hearings for the Royal Commission into the Integrity of Major Public and Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects in Victoria begins this week. The inquiry is expected to examine the role of former premier Jacinta Allan and her office regarding a controversial road and rail project, according to reports from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

The Victorian government's Big Build is a $100 billion construction initiative involving tunnels, railway stations, and new roads. ABC News AU reports that construction sites associated with the project have faced allegations of serious misconduct, corruption, and criminal wrongdoing. These allegations, first reported by Nine Newspapers in 2024, included claims that criminals and bikies acting as union delegates received hundreds of thousands of dollars on government-funded projects.

Following the federal government's decision to place parts of the CFMEU into administration in August 2024, administrator Geoffrey Watson SC reported that the Victorian union had "collapsed into a squalid mess." ABC News AU notes that Watson suggested organized crime may have cost Victorian taxpayers as much as $15 billion on Big Build projects.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, ABC News AU — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.