Premier Jacinta Allan is planning a new crime body to tackle Victoria’s underworld in a move Labor critics say is being rushed to try to avoid a Big Build royal commission and to save her own political skin.

The top secret agency would target gangland-related activity that has sparked a wave of firebombings, extortion and other serious crime in Victoria, with a focus on boosting intelligence and stripping money and assets from crime Mr Bigs.

But it would also be promoted as a tool by which police could pursue bikies and serious criminals who infiltrated the Big Build – which insiders say the Premier plans to use to argue a royal commission into public sector construction rorts would be unnecessary.

“It’d be a desperate move designed to save her leadership, not the government’s fortunes,” one MP said.

In a sign cracks inside the Allan government are starting to widen, details of the top secret organisation being planned have leaked amid growing police and political unrest.

Labor figures familiar with the concept said some work was being fast-tracked with the aim of being unveiled ahead of the next parliamentary sitting week beginning on July 28.

One said it looked more like a chance to generate a positive headline than about due diligence, while another likened it to an Aero chocolate bar because it was full of holes.

It is understood police and Chief Commissioner Mike Bush support the concept, but have baulked at calling it a crime commission due to fears it would turn political.

Police have called for greater powers to pursue kingpins of the underworld, and Mr Bush has said organised crime is driving other lawlessness.

“The Premier’s office are doing this with ridiculous timelines for their own reasons,” one source said.

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has already promised to introduce US-style anti-mafia laws if elected in November, with a focus on seizing assets and clawing back money from bigwig crime bosses.

This is understood to be a large focus of a new state body being considered by Labor, which is looking at how banks and financial institutions would be compelled to produce information to assist.

Ms Wilson has also made her promise of a royal commission in the Big Build a central pillar of her law and order campaigning in recent months, and a growing number of Labor MPs say the concept is gaining serious traction with voters.

The Allan government’s next scheduled Cabinet meeting, originally set to be held on Monday, has been pushed back by a week – partly because ministers will be attending a Labor caucus retreat in Ballarat on Monday and Tuesday.

If the plan is rubber-stamped at a July 27 Cabinet meeting it may enable some legislation required to be drafted before the November election, but critics say this would be ambitious and timelines are partially being driven by the need to stave off threats to Ms Allan’s leadership that have resurfaced.

Diabolic polling has driven part of the angst among Labor figures, who say the party could lose 20 to 30 seats under worst case scenarios, and that Ms Allan is a drag on the vote.

State MPs and party powerbrokers say electorate concerns about construction corruption have reached boiling point, and are causing serious damage to the government and MPs in vulnerable seats.

The crisis has grown since the CFMEU was plunged into administration in 2024, with investigators for the administrator reporting it had been infiltrated by bikies and underworld figures who ripped off taxpayers and turned some sites into drug distribution hubs.

Reports that the militant construction union had taken control of the Big Build and dictated which subcontractors could get on lucrative jobs stretch back years and cover the time Ms Allan was transport infrastructure minister, but she denies knowledge of any illegal activity.

Several Labor sources said anything less than a royal commission into how bikies and underworld figures infiltrated the Big Build would be embarrassing and not credible.

Those aware of the plan said ministers with affected portfolio responsibilities had been told to gather department briefings on options, including how to insulate it from corruption threats and be monitored by oversight agencies.

One senior source said it was difficult to understand how a new organised crime body could be created before the next election, given the high level of secrecy and security required.

They said police chief commissioner Mike Bush was likely to be supportive of the concept, however, after arguing when he first took the job that organised crime was driving a lot of other illegal activity in Victoria.

Labor MPs and ministers say although there are worthy elements of the plan that should be pursued, and that increasingly sophisticated criminal activity warranted a sophisticated response.

This included bolstering cyber-tech capacity within Victoria Police to target digitally-savvy gangs using encrypted systems to avoid detection.