An external takeover of the construction union and its branches will be cemented after Labor secured the numbers to pass laws to appoint an administrator.
The CFMEU has been plagued with accusations of corruption and organised crime links which spurred Labor to introduce legislation to let the minister appoint an administrator after a court application was at risk of stalling.
Laws superseding this and allowing the minister to appoint an external administrator over the top of the court process passed the Senate on Monday with the support of the coalition.
The scheme’s drafting was “well advanced” with hopes it could be enacted within a week, Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt said.
He admonished the opposition for the delay.
“Let’s just hope that no assets have been shifted within the CFMEU or other action taken over the last few days as a result of the coalition not agreeing to this last week,” he said.
The government is expected to officially appoint Victorian barrister Mark Irving as the administrator once the scheme is set up.
Following negotiations with the opposition, there will be a minimum three-year administration period for the construction union and its branches, the process can run up to five years and criminal officials can be banned for life.
The officials wouldn’t be able to become a bargaining agent at another organisation without a fit and proper person certificate from the Fair Work Commission to stop them using a backdoor to get onto construction sites.
Those who frustrate or obstruct administration will face hefty fines and up to two years behind bars.
The CFMEU criticised the law.
Criminal allegations had been taken seriously by the union, which had commissioned an independent review and stood down or removed officials pending legal proceedings, national secretary Zach Smith said.
But he noted the allegations were untested in court.
“Until allegations have been tested by the legal system, people and organisations are entitled to a fair process,” he said.
“The CFMEU has been steadfastly focused on getting an outcome that is in the best interests of our members.
“A forced administration through this legislation, devoid of real consultation with construction workers and isolated from their elected representatives, does not achieve this.”
The scheme can only be ended early at the request of the administrator, who will also need to report to parliament regularly.
The Fair Work Commission head Murray Furlong will front a parliament committee instead of the administrator, who the Liberals had pushed for but Labor rejected, arguing it would amount to politicising an independent process.
The opposition had called for an explicit donation and political campaigning ban during administration but Labor raised concerns it would risk it being unconstitutional and unraveling the entire scheme with a High Court challenge.
It agreed to pass the bill after opposition workplace relations spokeswoman Michaelia Cash met with the administrator and was provided a letter saying no money would be spent on political campaigning or donations.
“That is possibly the most significant part of what we wanted,” Senator Cash said.
The bill will ticked off by the government-controlled lower house as early as Tuesday.
The construction division won’t immediately be placed into administration, with the minister needing to jump through some regulatory hoops.
Building groups lobbied to pass the legislation as fast as possible, arguing each day without external oversight was another day of delays and uncertainty at affected construction sites.
“The building and construction industry is finally on the road to meaningful cultural change,” Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said.
