Construction industry
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:19): My question is to the Minister for Skills and TAFE. Minister, the media has revealed the existence of secret spreadsheets maintained by government officials which capture numerous details about extortion and blackmail tactics by a cabal of subcontractors aligned with the CFMEU. In response to a question on notice answered on 1 September 2025, you said that from 1 July 2024 to 12 May 2025 your department made payments totalling $1,326,674 to the CFMEU under the Skills First program. Why is the Labor government still providing taxpayers money to a union with clear and known links to criminal elements?
Gayle TIERNEY (Western Victoria – Minister for Skills and TAFE, Minister for Water) (12:20): Can I start by also making it clear that I condemn any form of criminal conduct, and of course I reject the premise that was implied in the question that was put by the member. All RTOs are regulated by the federal regulator, ASQA. All RTOs with the Skills First contract, including those affiliated with unions or industry, are subject to the same audits, reviews and compliance requirements under the Skills First contract. The department, DJSIR, is responsible for administering the Skills First program. For all contracted RTOs, Skills First payments are made on a monthly basis in arrears for training hours actually delivered in that month. The contractual relationship between the department and the CFMEU RTO has been in place since at least 2010, including when those opposite were in government. Except when they were in government, they were paid up-front, not in arrears.
If those opposite or anyone in the community have any allegations in relation to the CFMEU RTO, I urge them to report those to the appropriate authority. The Labor governments are prioritising integrity in our training systems. In 2014, when we came into government, we ran a blitz campaign to get rid of RTOs that were not providing quality training under the state government contracts. The department sets the compliance audit schedule for Skills First providers to be conducted by independent auditors, and these are compliance audits. The auditors will request all relevant documents without prior notice. It would be absolutely inappropriate for me to comment on plans for any potential future audits.
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:22): Minister, your response is saying you reject the premise of the question, but it is fact. The government is paying taxpayer money to a union with clear links to criminal elements. Now, you have just spoken about the audit that is undertaken. Under the Skills First program, the Labor government has provided over $3 million to the CFMEU since 2022. And I can tell you one thing: if it happened under our government, we would have cancelled all of this. In your answer you say the department continuously monitors Skills First training providers, which you have just informed the house of, including a range of inputs including trends and anomalies in training activity data reviewed on a monthly basis across the entire funded training system. So can you assure the house that there have been no anomalies with any of this reporting, given the amount of taxpayers money funded to the CFMEU over this period of time?
Gayle TIERNEY (Western Victoria – Minister for Skills and TAFE, Minister for Water) (12:23): Again, this is just another example of those opposite not understanding the skills and training system in this state. It is absolutely shameful that they then try to come in here and misrepresent the situation. The fact of the matter is that we are not the regulator.
Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, I would just like to ask you to ask the minister to not debate the issue. I am responding to her. I am quoting what she has said.
Members interjecting.
Georgie Crozier: Well, Minister, you might laugh at this and you might mock me, but it is a very important issue around taxpayers money. I am reading your own answer from 1 September 2025, and you continue to mock the taxpayer and the rorting corruption and the wrong that is going on in the CFMEU. I would ask the President to bring the minister back to answering this important question: have any anomalies been highlighted through the auditing process?
The PRESIDENT: I think the minister was being relevant to the whole of the question that was asked of her.
Gayle TIERNEY: We are not the regulator for the system, but in terms of the administration of the Skills First contract, it is administered by the department, and the department allocates those Skills First contracts on the basis of information it receives in terms of skills needs across this state. Most of that data is actually generated by the Victorian Skills Authority, and that provides the information to make sure that we allocate subsidised training and subsidised money so that we can have a trained workforce. And that is exactly what is happening and continues to happen. If there are other issues that the member has in relation to this issue, then she should raise them with the appropriate authority.
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:25): I move:
That the minister’s answer be taken into consideration on the next day of meeting.
Motion agreed to.