Allegations of organised crime infiltration, extortion, bribery and fraud on Victorian government construction sites have continued to accumulate in recent months, prompting a growing chorus of voices — including former oversight officials — calling for a royal commission to properly investigate what is happening on the state’s Big Build program. Premier Jacinta Allan has, to date, attributed cost blowouts primarily to inflation and insisted existing agencies are capable of handling any misconduct concerns, but critics argue that response falls well short of the gravity of what is being alleged.
What is being alleged? #
VCN understands that the allegations circulating around Victoria’s Big Build — the state government’s multi-decade, multi-billion-dollar infrastructure investment program — are wide-ranging and serious. Sources close to oversight proceedings have told VCN that allegations include the alleged presence of organised crime figures on government-funded construction sites, claims of intimidation and extortion directed at subcontractors, and suspected fraud involving procurement and payments on major infrastructure projects.
It is important to be clear: these are allegations. No court has made findings against any individual or organisation in relation to these specific claims. Victoria Police is investigating a number of matters connected to the construction sector, and separate oversight bodies are also said to be examining aspects of the program. All persons and entities implicated in allegations are presumed innocent unless and until a court makes a contrary finding.
What does the Premier say? #
Premier Jacinta Allan has publicly attributed the rising cost of Big Build projects primarily to inflation and supply-chain pressures — the same pressures, her government argues, that have driven up construction costs globally. In public statements, the Premier has indicated that agencies including Victoria Police, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), and the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office have the tools and the mandate to deal with any alleged wrongdoing on construction sites.
That position has attracted significant scrutiny. Commentators and former public officials have questioned whether those agencies — each with its own remit, resourcing constraints and jurisdictional limits — can collectively provide the kind of comprehensive, public and cross-cutting inquiry that a royal commission would deliver. The argument is not necessarily that those agencies are failing individually, but that no single body has both the powers and the public mandate to pull every thread of the allegations together.
Why existing agencies may not be enough #
IBAC is Victoria’s primary anti-corruption watchdog. It has broad powers to investigate corrupt conduct by public officers and public bodies, and it can hold public hearings — as it has done previously in high-profile inquiries into Victoria Police and local government. However, IBAC’s jurisdiction is primarily focused on the conduct of public officials; its reach over private contractors, subcontractors and alleged organised crime networks is more limited. Where alleged misconduct is primarily within the private sector — even on government-funded sites — IBAC’s tools become less straightforward to deploy.
Victoria Police, meanwhile, investigates criminal offending. Where there is evidence of criminal conduct — extortion, fraud, bribery — officers can and do investigate. But a police investigation is not a public inquiry. It does not produce public findings about systemic failures in government procurement, site-access controls or industrial relations oversight. It does not compel government witnesses to answer questions on the record in a public forum. It does not make recommendations about policy and governance reform.
The Victorian Auditor-General can scrutinise value for money and financial compliance, and has done so with Big Build projects before. But again, the Auditor-General’s remit is financial performance, not a broad inquiry into organised crime or corruption.
A royal commission — or a parliamentary inquiry with similar compulsive powers — could cut across all of those silos. It could compel witnesses, examine documents across government and private entities simultaneously, hold public hearings and produce findings and recommendations on both the alleged conduct and the governance systems that may have allowed it to occur.
The scale of the Big Build matters #
To understand why the stakes are so high, it helps to understand the scale of what is being discussed. Victoria’s Big Build encompasses dozens of major infrastructure projects — level crossing removals, the Metro Tunnel, the West Gate Tunnel, the Suburban Rail Loop, hospital builds, school upgrades and more. The program is funded by Victorian taxpayers and involves billions of dollars in government contracts flowing through a complex web of head contractors, subcontractors and labour-hire arrangements.
That complexity — and the sheer volume of money moving through construction sites — creates what governance experts describe as structural vulnerability to fraud and misconduct. Where oversight is fragmented, where procurement chains are long and opaque, and where site access is difficult to monitor, the conditions that allow misconduct to flourish are more likely to exist. Allegations that organised crime figures have exploited those conditions, if proven, would represent a significant failure of both industry governance and government oversight.
The case for a royal commission #
Former senior oversight officials have publicly argued that the threshold for a royal commission has been reached. The logic runs like this: when allegations are systemic rather than isolated, when they involve multiple alleged actors across multiple sites over an extended period, and when existing agencies have demonstrably not resolved the matter despite being aware of the concerns, the public interest requires an independent, fully empowered and fully public inquiry.
A royal commission would also send a signal — to the construction industry, to organised crime, and to Victorians paying for this infrastructure — that the government takes the allegations seriously enough to subject itself and its procurement systems to genuine independent scrutiny. Critics argue that pointing to existing agencies, without any announced terms of reference, any dedicated resourcing or any public inquiry process, falls short of that standard.
VCN understands that pressure on the Allan government to announce a formal inquiry is intensifying, with crossbench MPs and opposition figures having raised the matter in parliament. The parliamentary record shows that questions have been directed to the government about specific sites, specific alleged incidents and the adequacy of current oversight arrangements. The government’s responses, as recorded in Hansard, have to date reiterated its confidence in existing agencies.
What happens next? #
The trajectory of this story will depend on several factors. Victoria Police investigations, if they result in charges, would bring specific alleged conduct before the courts — but that process would not address the broader governance questions. IBAC may yet announce a formal investigation or public examination; it has done so in the past when evidence of systemic issues has emerged. And political pressure, both within the parliament and in public debate, will continue to shape whether the government’s current position is sustainable.
VCN will continue to report on this matter as it develops. We are seeking comment from the Department of Transport and Planning, Infrastructure Victoria, and the offices of the Premier and the Attorney-General. We will update this report when responses are received.
It bears repeating: the allegations described in this article are allegations. They have not been tested in any court. All individuals and organisations are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. VCN’s reporting is based on publicly available statements, parliamentary records, official oversight body communications and information provided to us by sources. Where claims go beyond those sources, we have said so.
The matter is currently before relevant oversight bodies and, in some instances, before the courts. All persons charged in related proceedings are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
If you have information about misconduct on Victorian government construction sites, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at crimestoppersvic.com.au. Reports can be made anonymously. If you are experiencing threats, intimidation or extortion, contact Victoria Police on 000 in an emergency or 131 444 for non-urgent matters. If this reporting has raised concerns for your wellbeing, Lifeline is available 24 hours a day on 13 11 14, and Beyond Blue can be reached on 1300 22 4636.
