A research centre whose work has been cited to downplay the cost of corruption on Victoria’s multi-billion-dollar Big Build program was co-founded with the assistance of Mick Gatto — a figure whose long associations with Melbourne’s construction industry are well documented. VCN understands the centre’s findings have circulated in industry and political circles as part of a broader effort to blunt the impact of the scandal engulfing the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU).
Our newsroom has spent several weeks piecing together the provenance of the research, the network behind the institution that produced it, and the way that research has been deployed in public debate. What we found raises serious questions about whose interests the work ultimately serves — and whether Victorian decision-makers have been given an accurate picture of what the Big Build’s corruption problem is actually costing taxpayers.
What the centre published — and what it claimed #
The centre in question produced analysis that sources close to the Big Build’s oversight architecture describe to VCN as an attempt to put a low ceiling on the estimated financial harm flowing from corrupt or coercive conduct in the construction sector. The research, VCN understands, circulated among some industry stakeholders and was referenced in submissions and briefing documents aimed at convincing policymakers that corruption’s cost to infrastructure delivery had been overstated by critics, investigators and media.
Independent economists and governance specialists who spoke to VCN on background were sceptical of the methodology said to underpin those conclusions. One source, who has reviewed the research, described its assumptions as “selective in a way that consistently produces a lower number.” VCN is not in a position to publish that source’s name because doing so could expose them to professional consequences.
The centre itself has not publicly acknowledged any association with Gatto. VCN put questions to the centre about its founding and its funding — we had not received a substantive response by the time of publication.
Gatto’s role, and what we know about it #
Mick Gatto is a Melbourne identity who has operated for decades at the intersection of the construction industry, dispute resolution and organised crime circles. He has never been convicted of any offence that would place him inside the CFMEU’s current legal jeopardy, and nothing in this article should be read as suggesting otherwise. He is presumed innocent of any wrongdoing not established by a court.
Sources have told VCN that Gatto played an instrumental role in facilitating the establishment of the research centre — introducing key figures, assisting with early logistics, and lending the kind of informal credibility in certain industry quarters that formal academic networks do not always provide. VCN understands this assistance pre-dated the centre’s public launch.
We put these claims to Gatto’s representatives. At the time of publication, we had not received a response.
The CFMEU scandal — a brief explainer for readers #
For readers who have not been following the CFMEU story closely, a brief summary is necessary to understand why this matters. Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police are both investigating alleged criminal infiltration of the union’s Victorian branch. Federal administrators were appointed to the union in 2024 after a series of reports — including material published by this masthead and major metropolitan outlets — detailed alleged standover tactics on Big Build worksites, inflated subcontracting arrangements, and payments said by sources to have flowed to individuals connected to organised crime.
The Big Build is the Jacinta Allan government’s sweeping infrastructure program — the largest capital works undertaking in Victoria’s history, encompassing the Metro Tunnel, the Suburban Rail Loop, the West Gate Tunnel, and dozens of road and hospital projects. Because so much public money flows through these contracts, any corruption that inflates labour costs, suppresses competition, or channels payments to connected parties has a direct cost to Victorian taxpayers.
Estimating that cost precisely is genuinely difficult. But the difficulty of the task is not the same as the cost being negligible — and VCN understands that distinction is precisely where the disputed research enters the picture.
How the research entered the public debate #
VCN has reviewed correspondence and submissions in which the centre’s findings were cited, and spoken to sources familiar with their circulation. The research appears to have been deployed in two ways: first, as a briefing tool for industry figures and union-aligned organisations seeking to counter the narrative that the Big Build had been systematically bled by corrupt conduct; and second, as material fed to sympathetic commentators and, in at least one instance, a parliamentary submission.
One source, a former state government infrastructure adviser, told VCN the research “did the rounds” at a time when political pressure on the CFMEU and its relationships with the Allan government was intensifying. “The timing was not a coincidence,” the source said. “It was designed to give people cover.”
VCN is not suggesting the research is fraudulent on its face — we are not economists and it is not our role to adjudicate the technical merits of an academic paper. What we are reporting is the context of its production, the network behind the institution that produced it, and the purposes to which it has been put.
What IBAC and other oversight bodies have said #
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) has previously made findings about corruption risks in Victoria’s construction sector. In its Operation Daintree report and subsequent parliamentary submissions, IBAC identified systemic vulnerabilities in major project procurement, including risks associated with industry capture, coercive conduct on worksites, and the suppression of competitive tendering.
IBAC has not publicly commented on the specific research centre or its findings. VCN has lodged a formal media inquiry with IBAC and will update this story if a response is received.
The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office has also, in successive audits of Big Build projects, flagged cost overruns and contract management weaknesses — though those reports stop short of attributing overruns specifically to corrupt conduct. The gap between what auditors can demonstrate on the public record and what investigators allege in private briefings remains a live tension in covering this story responsibly.
Why this matters — and what happens next #
The significance of this story is not simply that a controversial figure helped set up a think tank. The significance is in the downstream use of that institution’s output — the way research of uncertain independence has been positioned as authoritative cover for the claim that the Big Build’s corruption problem has been overblown.
If that research has influenced government briefings, parliamentary submissions, or the posture of infrastructure agencies toward the ongoing investigations, Victorian taxpayers have an interest in knowing it. The integrity of the Big Build’s oversight architecture depends on decision-makers receiving frank, independent analysis — not analysis whose provenance, as sources have described it to VCN, is entangled with the very industry networks under scrutiny.
VCN will continue to report on the Big Build’s governance, the CFMEU administration, and the progress of police and IBAC investigations. Readers with information relevant to this story can contact our newsroom securely via our tip line, or reach Crime Stoppers anonymously.
This story is ongoing. Our newsroom will update it as further information becomes available. All persons referenced in this article who have not been convicted of any offence are presumed innocent of any wrongdoing not established by a court of law.
If you have information about corruption on Victorian construction projects, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 (anonymous). If this story has raised concerns for you, support is available: Lifeline 13 11 14 — Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 — 13YARN 13 92 76.
