AAA<\/p>\n
Premier Ben Carroll\u2019s promised reforms<\/a> to give the state\u2019s peak anti-corruption body greater reach and powers are at risk of collapse following a proposed last-minute change that would prevent IBAC from investigating some allegations relating to Victoria\u2019s Big Build sites.<\/p>\n Both the Coalition and the Greens have threatened to withdraw their support for Labor\u2019s proposed legislation, which is set to be introduced into parliament on Tuesday, after the government confirmed its law change would declare any allegations IBAC had already dealt with under its old powers off limits.<\/p>\n The carve-out includes allegations former premier Jacinta Allan referred to IBAC more than two years ago<\/a> after a joint investigation by The Age, The Australian Financial Review and 60 Minutes revealed organised crime had infiltrated government-funded major building projects.<\/p>\n The proposed legislation, which gives IBAC follow-the-money powers and a broader definition of corruption to launch investigations, prevents it from applying the broader powers and jurisdiction to matters it has already investigated, decided not to investigate or referred to another integrity agency.<\/p>\n The government believes the new Kourakis royal commission is the primary body for investigating allegations of corruption and misconduct associated with the Big Build, and that the commission will work closely with a special prosecutor, IBAC and Victoria Police to ensure all claims of serious wrongdoing are examined.<\/p>\n On Monday night, shadow attorney-general James Newbury described the move as a \u201cshameful con\u201d and an eleventh-hour manoeuvre before parliament is prorogued ahead of November\u2019s state election.<\/p>\n \u201cBen Carroll and Labor are shamefully trying to keep covered up the worst corruption scandal in our state\u2019s history,\u201d Newbury said.<\/p>\n \u201cLabor has confirmed their proposed new powers won\u2019t let IBAC revisit old corruption allegations it has dismissed, referred elsewhere or finished investigating.<\/p>\n \u201cVictorians deserve to know the extent of corruption on the Big Build. IBAC must not be blocked from that work. What a shameful con from an end of days government.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Special Minister of State Ingrid Stitt rejected the criticism.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Liberals are lying,\u201d she said. \u201cThe royal commission will be able to investigate any allegations of crime, corruption and serious misconduct on Big Build projects.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re fast-tracking the new laws, so IBAC has the follow-the-money powers it needs to uncover corruption this year, not in 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n An opposition party room meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning is expected to withdraw support for the bill unless it is substantially amended.<\/p>\n Greens leader Ellen Sandell said the legislation needed to provide greater scope for IBAC to conduct public examinations of witnesses, including parliamentarians.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Greens dragged Labor kicking and screaming to finally strengthen IBAC, but as per usual with Labor, they\u2019ve done it in a way that has big carve-outs to protect themselves and leave Victorians in the dark,\u201d Sandell said.<\/p>\n Allan wrote to IBAC in July 2024, a day after the first revelations of the Building Bad investigation were published by this masthead, urging the anti-corruption body to investigate the claims.<\/p>\n \u201cI am concerned to ensure that any allegations of serious corruption that are within the remit of IBAC are identified, investigated and appropriate action taken by IBAC,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n In February this year, it was revealed that IBAC had assessed the premier\u2019s referral and found it to be outside its jurisdiction at the time.<\/p>\n At the time, IBAC was still assessing a separate referral from Newbury about the contents of a report from anti-corruption advocate Geoffrey Watson, SC, which outlined serious misconduct in the CFMEU, the union which under the Andrews and Allan governments established an industrial monopoly over Big Build projects.<\/p>\n In July, Newbury made a further referral over allegations that state government officials told builders to cut a deal with the CFMEU following a dispute on a key level crossing removal site.<\/p>\n The status of Newbury\u2019s referrals is not known. IBAC does not typically confirm or deny what matters it is investigating. It responded to media requests about Allan\u2019s referral only after the former premier publicly released her letter.<\/p>\n The proposed changes to IBAC\u2019s laws would allow the agency to use its new powers and jurisdiction on matters it is currently investigating, as well as any future investigations.<\/p>\n The government legislation would expand IBAC\u2019s working definition of corrupt conduct beyond its current requirement that it must constitute a criminal offence punishable by five years\u2019 jail. This jurisdictional limitation, which has been criticised by successive IBAC commissions, is more narrow than that used by any other peak anti-corruption body in Australia.<\/p>\n Related Article The definition of corruption would be broadened to include any offence or serious disciplinary matter. This covers a much wider range of activity \u2013 such as misconduct and major breaches of ministerial and local government codes of conduct \u2013 and would enable IBAC to investigate what its former commissioner Robert Redlich described as \u201cgrey corruption\u201d.<\/p>\n Redlich, the Centre for Public Integrity, Transparency International Australia, former ombudsman Deborah Glass and other integrity advocates have repeatedly called for IBAC\u2019s working definition of corruption to be brought into line with the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption and the National Anti-Corruption Commission.<\/p>\n IBAC\u2019s proposed follow-the-money powers, would allow it to pursue investigations beyond major government contractors, into subcontractors and labour hire firms who ultimately receive taxpayer funds.<\/p>\n Since replacing Allan, Carroll has staked his nascent premiership on restoring government integrity, promising to bring forward greater powers for IBAC and establish a royal commission into Big Build corruption on the first day of his leadership.<\/p>\n Alongside the proposed IBAC legislation, the government will this week introduce into parliament proposed legislation to establish a special prosecutor\u2019s office to work in tandem with the royal commission.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Victorian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788778870_319_81530d7a64e1cabb0401789430592b2db05e2cd1.jpeg\")
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll.Chris Hopkins<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788778871_635_6cfc46e890b2e2fef998cd2e46c0b61b9226ef800a932d9c2f83c72d23f9a317.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Jacinta](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/5292fac6fd4f21481c1d95de400e99675685ee7e.jpeg\")
Jacinta Allan faced increasing questions about corruption in the state\u2019s Big Build projects in the lead up to her resignation as premier.Penny Stephens<\/p>\n![\"Jacinta](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/8611bde009852632653f047b2e4491d2d2c89027.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Chip](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788778872_543_c933d487c0923e425b125b59fa4140f217688025.png\")
Chip Le Grand<\/a> leads our state politics reporting team. He previously served as the paper\u2019s chief reporter and is a journalist of 30 years\u2019 experience.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 7, 2026 \u2014 7:56pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90148,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,21],"class_list":["post-90147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-austrlia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}