Crackdown on construction sector misconduct passed

The Wage Theft Amendment Bill 2025 follows the first recommendation of the Formal Review into Victorian Government Bodies’ Engagement with Construction Companies and Construction Unions (better known as the ‘Wilson review’) of misconduct allegations in the Victorian construction sector. 

The legislation introduced by Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs Danny Pearson, will establish a new complaint referral service within the independent statutory body Workforce Inspectorate Victoria, responsible for receiving complaints and tip-offs about improper conduct at public construction projects and ensure those complaints are referred to the appropriate investigating entity.

“ ‘Criminal and unlawful behaviour has no place in Victoria’s construction industry.’ ”

Second reading speech

The minister's second reading speech said the review was commissioned as ‘part of a range of actions responding to allegations of criminal and other unlawful conduct by the construction division of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees’ Union (CFMEU), to examine how Victorian Government bodies interact with construction companies and unions’. 

‘Criminal and unlawful behaviour has no place in Victoria’s construction industry,’ the speech said. 

The bill will also repeals Victoria’s wage theft offences, which are now covered by federal law. 

Member for North-Eastern Metropolitan Richard Welch said that the opposition would support the bill but that the Wilson review did not go far enough and a royal commission was necessary. 

‘Only a royal commission has the powers to compel evidence, protect whistleblowers and expose the dark connections between union misconduct and organised crime,’ he said.

“ ‘This bill does nothing to address the deep-rooted misconduct in Victoria’s building sector, which has been the source of vast intergenerational wage theft for decades.’ ”

Renee Heath, Member for Eastern Victoria

Aiv Puglielli, Member for North-Eastern Metropolitan, said that, while he was glad wage theft was now covered by national legislation, he was nonetheless worried that ‘too many workers continue to be mistreated and continue to be underpaid’.

‘I have heard from dozens of workers this year alone who have told me about the awful, often illegal, things that they have endured in their workplace – things that are, I would say, most certainly constituting wage theft, things that in many cases they have already reported to the appropriate authorities,’ he said.

Sonja Terpstra, Member for North-Eastern Metropolitan, praised the broader role of the inspectorate in investigating corporations and the non-payment of entitlements, such as long service leave. 

'In the front-facing aspect of the inspectorate, for example, they had 7300 calls to their helpline from people seeking information about rights and obligations under laws within the wage inspectorate’s remit and responded to over 1000 written inquiries,’ she said.

Renee Heath, Member for Eastern Victoria, reiterated calls for a deeper investigation into issues in the construction industry. 

‘This bill does nothing to address the deep-rooted misconduct in Victoria’s building sector, which has been the source of vast intergenerational wage theft for decades,’ she said. 

The full debate is available to read in Hansard.