Victoria's Big Build Royal Commission Opens Public Hearings Into CFMEU and Former Premier
The inquiry's first public hearings mark a formal legal test of how political oversight and union influence shaped one of Australia's largest infrastructure programs.
Victoria's royal commission into the state government's major infrastructure program, known as the Big Build, began its first block of public hearings on November 9, 2026, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The inquiry will examine both the management of the road and rail project and the role of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union, known as the CFMEU, in that program.
Among the central figures expected to face scrutiny is former Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, whose office is under examination for its involvement in decisions related to the Big Build, according to the Sydney Morning Herald's reporting on the commission's opening proceedings.
The Big Build is the umbrella label used by the Victorian state government to describe a portfolio of major transport infrastructure projects, including road upgrades, level crossing removals, and rail extensions. The program has been among the largest public construction undertakings in Australian state history by budget.
The CFMEU, the construction union involved in the inquiry, has faced separate regulatory scrutiny at the federal level in Australia in prior years. In 2024, the federal government placed the union's construction division into administration following allegations of serious misconduct, according to reporting by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation at that time. The Victorian royal commission represents a distinct state-level inquiry focused specifically on the Big Build program.
Royal commissions in Australia are formal government inquiries with the power to compel witnesses and documents. Their findings are delivered to the relevant government as formal reports and can include recommendations for legislative change, referrals for prosecution, or administrative reforms. They do not themselves deliver criminal verdicts.
The commission's decision to begin with public hearings signals that investigators have reached a stage where evidence gathered in private can be tested openly. Public hearings allow legal counsel representing various parties, including the government, the union, and potentially individuals named in the inquiry, to question witnesses on the record.
The involvement of a former premier in the scope of a royal commission is relatively uncommon in Australian state politics. The inquiry's terms of reference, which determine what the commission is empowered to investigate, would specify the precise boundaries of that examination. The Sydney Morning Herald report does not detail the full terms of reference, and the commission's formal documentation would be the definitive source for that information.
The Victorian government that commissioned the inquiry is distinct from the government led by Allan, which lost office. The current government's decision to establish a royal commission reflects a political choice to subject the previous administration's infrastructure program to formal legal scrutiny. The opposition of the day, now in government, had called for such a commission during the prior electoral period, according to prior Australian press reporting.
Workers employed on Big Build projects, subcontractors, taxpayers funding the program, and union members whose organization is under examination are among the groups directly affected by the commission's findings. Any recommendations touching procurement, wage agreements, or oversight structures could reshape how Victoria manages large public contracts going forward.
The commission is expected to continue hearings over multiple weeks. Its final report date has not been specified in the available source material. The full scope of witnesses and the documentary evidence to be introduced publicly will become clearer as hearings proceed.