CFMEU boss Michael Ravbar ran union like a 'kingdom', inquiry hears
For more than a decade, union boss Michael Ravbar worked to forge his “kingdom” within the CFMEU — riding roughshod over anyone who stood in his way — an inquiry has heard.
Michael Ravbar ran the militant CFMEU in Queensland like his own personal kingdom for more than a decade, during which he inked a deal that led to $50m of member fees being paid to an “unlawful” body an inquiry has heard.
This alleged special deal struck between CFMEU Queensland’s federal and state arms by Mr Ravbar and his right hand man Jade Ingham meant up to 20,000 union member paid their fees to the wrong branch.
The August 2020 deal —outlined by union administrator Mark Irving at the landmark inquiry into the CFMEU on Thursday — was likely “unlawful”, he said.
This claim will be examined by Mr Ravbar and Mr Ingham’s separate legal counsels when Mr Irving returns to the stand some time in 2026.
But the allegations aired on Thursday by Mr Irving suggest wage deals signed for those impacted members — and the best practice industry conditions (BPICs) attached to them — may be invalid.
Mr Irving, in an explosive day of testimony, also criticised the undemocratic way the union was structured and alleged it allowed Mr Ravbar to run roughshod and lead the union uncontested, describing the Queensland branch as “Michael’s palace”.
“It was Michael Ravbar’s kingdom in which he ruled,” he said.
“Michael Ravbar wasn’t sharing power with anyone. Michael Ravbar was concentrating power in his own hands with Jade Ingham.”
Mr Ravbar was leader of the union for 16 years — from 2008 until the CFMEU was put into administration in 2024.
His position was uncontested throughout that time.
The last time the union had a contested election was in 2013, for one position.
Mr Irving has told the Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU he considered the agreement for members to pay fees to the state arm of the union rather than the proper federated chapter was “unlawful”.
He alleged between $40m and $50m in member fees were transferred to the state-registered branch, leaving thousands of members financially unregistered federally.
“And so one ended up with a position where 15,000 to 20,000 people were paying subscriptions to the wrong body pursuant to an agreement which was contrary to the rules, and in my view, contrary to law,” Mr Irving said.
“Worse … the people who had paid their subscriptions had not become financial members of the federal branch.
“And if you’re not a financial member of a branch, you can’t vote in the elections.”
The millions received into the state-registered branch, controlled by Mr Ravbar and Mr Ingham, was then spent on a swath of properties.
Mr Irving told the Inquiry he suspected the membership fee deal was brokered to “keep power intact and unchallengeable and beyond the reach of others within the union” and to “create an impregnable fiefdom into which the national organisation could not reach”.
He confirmed he had since fixed the issue and members were now paying subscription to the right body and were again financial members of the federal organisation.
A report by financial analysts KordaMentha —commissioned by Mr Irving — lists the properties obtained by the state registered branch following the deal. It was valued at over $18m.
Those properties include four lots in Bowen Hills, two residential units on Queen St in Brisbane’s CBD, a property in Currajong, Townsville, and two Northern Territory properties in Jingili and Darwin.
A whopping $5.4m was spent on three other properties in Bowen Hills under the umbrella “New Urban Villages Development Project”.
In a bombshell revelation, Mr Irving revealed to the Inquiry that he reported Jade Ingham’s brother Anthony Perrett to the police during the Watson review.
Mr Perrett – who has since been charged with torture and murder in an unrelated matter- was allegedly driving CFMEU members to their interviews with Geoffrey Watson SC, and providing them with tape recorders.
Mr Irving said there was “no doubt” recordings of interviews were being given to Mr Ingham.
He sympathised with the CFMEU employees who attended interviews with Mr Watson, saying he understood why they were uncooperative.
“They went to the meeting with Mr Watson in the most extraordinary of circumstances,” he said.
“And in circumstances where someone like that gives you a recorder and sending you to a meeting, the implication of what will occur if one is cooperative with the administration is going to be.
“It was being taken to make sure the evidence that was given to Mr Watson was others will be satisfied with -effectively “don’t squeal”.
Mr Irving said upon discovering the employees were being allegedly coerced, he contacted the police.
The next intermal CFMEU elections will be held the end of the administration. Mr Irving plans to permanently terminate the CFMEU memberships of Michael Ravbar, Jade Ingham, as well as other senior state leaders Darren and Michael Greenfield from the NSW branch, and John Setka, Mick Myles, Elias Spernovasilis and Derek Christopher from the Victorian branch.
In a statement provided to the Inquiry on Thursday, Mr Irving confirmed Mr Ravbar, Mr Ingham and Kane Lowth were immediately removed from the union upon the administration appointment.
Another nine paid officials resigned, including members mentioned in the Watson report Luke Gibson, Blake Hynes, and Matt Clark and a further twelve were made redundant including Dean Rielly, Kurt Pauls, Hayden Turner and Brodie Wood.
In total, 24 paid employees have left the Queensland CFMEU since August 2024.
