Liberal senator calls for probe into $5.5m grant to CFMEU-linked entity

A $5.5m grant linked to the criminally infiltrated CFMEU needs investigation, shadow federal Attorney-General Michaelia Cash says.

A $5.5m grant to a CFMEU-linked entity needs to be forensically examined, shadow federal Attorney-General Michaelia Cash says.

The grant to the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union-linked industry fund Incolink came earlier this month, two weeks before footage emerged of a bikie construction worker assaulting a woman on a state-government funded worksite.

Given this assault, evidence of further gendered violence on CFMEU sites, and the union being forced into administration, Michaelia Cash has called for the recent $5.5m grant to be scrutinised by the Australian National Audit Office.

Incolink is linked to the CFMEU, the senator writes in a letter to the national audit office boss.

Multiple women have given detailed accounts of gendered violence on CFMEU worksites. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

“The CFMEU has been subject to significant allegations of misconduct, including instances of violence against women, sexual harassment, and a culture of covering up such behaviour,” Senator Cash says in the letter.

“There is a strong public interest in scrutinising whether the decision to award this grant was appropriate and in alignment with the government’s own governance and accountability standards.”

A spokesperson for the Albanese government defended the loan, saying it was for the

Women in Construction project that “seeks to provide structural change and support better careers for women in construction”.

“The sector needs urgent reform to address gendered violence and harassment on construction sites,” the spokesperson said.

“Women in Construction has partnered with leading organisations like Jesuit Social Services and Our Watch to take action to better and reform the culture in this industry.

“The grants process involved extensive due diligence, including being overseen by an independent probity advisor.”

The project has 17 partners involved, including unions, employers and Our Watch – Australia’s leader organisation for primary prevention of gendered violence.

The CFMEU does not receive government funding and is contributing its own resources to the project.

Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt admitted in late 2024 “elements of the CFMEU have been infiltrated by organised crime”.

Michaelia Cash says money granted to a CFMEU-linked entity should be audited. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

Following media reporting in mid-2024, the construction and general division of the CFMEU were placed into administration “to a position where they are democratically controlled and operate effectively and lawfully in the interests of members”, the Fair Work Commission says.

But in early March, the CFMEU-linked Incolink was awarded $5.48m from the federal government.

Incolink received the grant for a project done in conjunction with the national, Victorian and Tasmanian branches of the CFMEU to support training women in skilled roles, as well as a domestic violence organisation.

Barely two weeks later, The Age and 60 Minutes published footage of a bikie and CFMEU worker assaulting a woman on a job site, along with further accounts recidivist criminals harassing woman on worksites and forcing them from the industry.

Senator Cash has written to the Australian National Audit Office Auditor-General calling for a full audit of the Incolink grant.