A senior official with the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union has alleged that workers were living on a luxury high-rise construction site in Melbourne’s inner east, filming what the union described as degrading conditions inside the Victoria Place development in Burwood and releasing the footage publicly.
The allegations, which have drawn swift attention from workplace safety regulators and the broader building industry, raise serious questions about the treatment of workers on major Victorian development projects — and about the oversight mechanisms that are supposed to prevent such situations from arising.
What the union says it found #
In a video walk-through published by the CFMEU, a union official is shown moving through what appears to be a section of the Victoria Place site and pointing to signs that workers had been using the location as living quarters. The official is heard saying: “No one brings their underpants on site and washes them at work.”
The union alleges that personal belongings, bedding and clothing consistent with people sleeping and living at the site were found during the inspection. VCN understands the CFMEU has described the conditions as “disgusting” and has called for an immediate investigation by WorkSafe Victoria.
Victoria Place is a multi-tower residential development in Burwood marketed to buyers as premium inner-suburban living. VCN is not suggesting the developer or head contractor had knowledge of or sanctioned the alleged living arrangements. The identity of the workers said to have been staying on site, and the circumstances that may have led them there, have not been publicly confirmed.
Who is responsible for site conditions? #
Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic), head contractors have a primary duty to ensure the workplace is safe for all persons — including subcontractors, labour-hire workers and visitors. WorkSafe Victoria has the power to issue improvement notices, prohibition notices and, in serious cases, initiate prosecutions.
The CFMEU has not, in its public statements seen by VCN, named a specific employer it alleges is responsible for the workers’ situation. It is understood the union is calling on WorkSafe to inspect the site and identify who engaged the workers in question.
VCN has contacted the head contractor for the Victoria Place development and WorkSafe Victoria for comment. Neither had provided a response at the time of publication.
The broader labour-hire picture #
This alleged situation does not exist in isolation. Victoria’s construction boom — driven in part by the state government’s Big Build infrastructure programme and a wave of private high-rise residential development — has created intense demand for labour at all skill levels. Industry sources have previously told VCN that subcontracting chains on major sites can run four or five tiers deep, making it difficult for head contractors and principal employers to monitor the conditions under which workers are actually engaged.
Victoria’s Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 was introduced specifically to address exploitation in that sector, requiring labour-hire providers to be licensed and to meet minimum standards. However, VCN understands that compliance and enforcement remain patchy, particularly on sites where workers are engaged through informal or undocumented arrangements.
The CFMEU has long argued that a significant cohort of workers on Melbourne construction sites — many of them recently arrived migrants or international workers on temporary visas — are vulnerable to exploitation precisely because they depend on their employer not just for wages but, in some cases, for accommodation and other basics. That dependency, the union argues, makes it harder for workers to complain or walk off a job when conditions are unsafe or unlawful.
WorkSafe’s role and powers #
WorkSafe Victoria is the state’s workplace health and safety regulator. It has broad powers to enter construction sites, issue notices and investigate complaints. In cases involving serious risk to health and safety, WorkSafe inspectors can direct work to stop immediately.
VCN understands the CFMEU has formally notified WorkSafe of the alleged conditions at the Burwood site, though the regulator had not publicly confirmed the receipt of that complaint or whether an inspection had been scheduled by the time this article was filed.
If the allegations are substantiated, the developer and head contractor could face questions about whether their site safety management plans adequately addressed the risk of people living on site — a scenario that creates obvious fire, security and welfare hazards.
Victoria Place: what we know about the development #
Victoria Place is a large-scale mixed-use development in Burwood, comprising multiple residential towers with hundreds of apartments. Projects of this scale typically involve a principal developer, a head contractor, and an extensive chain of subcontractors responsible for everything from concrete work and steel fixing to fit-out and services installation.
The development is not part of the Victorian government’s Big Build programme — it is a private residential project — but it is emblematic of the type of large-scale construction activity that has transformed Melbourne’s middle-ring suburbs over the past decade. VCN is not suggesting the developer has acted unlawfully. The allegations in the CFMEU video relate to conditions the union says it observed on site; the causes and responsibility for those conditions remain a matter for regulators and, potentially, the courts to determine.
What happens next #
The CFMEU has indicated it will continue to press for answers, and the union’s public release of the site footage is a clear signal it intends to keep this matter in the public eye. WorkSafe Victoria has the power to investigate the site and to require the production of employment records, safety management documents and subcontracting agreements.
Separately, if any of the workers found to be living on site were doing so under duress, or because they had been misled about their employment conditions, that could engage other regulatory frameworks — including the Australian Border Force’s compliance function in relation to visa holders, or the Fair Work Ombudsman’s jurisdiction over underpayment and sham contracting.
VCN will continue to monitor this matter and will report on any response from the developer, head contractor, WorkSafe Victoria, or any other relevant authority as it becomes available.
A pattern that demands scrutiny #
This is not the first time concerns about worker welfare on Melbourne’s high-rise construction sites have surfaced publicly. Industry advocates and union officials have repeatedly raised alarms about the conditions facing workers at the bottom of complex subcontracting chains — people who may be working long hours, receiving cash-in-hand wages below award rates, or living in circumstances that no worker in Victoria should have to accept.
Whether those broader systemic issues are at play in the Victoria Place matter is not yet established. What is clear is that the CFMEU’s footage — whatever its limitations as evidence — has focused attention on a site and a set of conditions that regulators are now expected to examine closely.
For workers in the construction industry who have concerns about their conditions or the safety of their workplace, WorkSafe Victoria’s advisory line is available at 1800 136 089. Complaints can also be made anonymously through Crime Stoppers.
The matter is currently under investigation. All persons and entities are presumed innocent until proven guilty or found liable in a court or tribunal of law.
If you have information relevant to this story, contact VCN securely via our tips line. To report a workplace safety concern, contact WorkSafe Victoria on 1800 136 089 or visit worksafe.vic.gov.au. For anonymous crime reports, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
