The HSU's Victorian No. 1 branch "plainly" received "preferential treatment" from advisors to Victoria Labor Premier Daniel Andrews and his health ministers that influenced the awarding and management of a multi-training scheme in 2018 to a union-linked foundation, according to a special report by the State's anti-corruption watchdog.
Long-serving MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin is facing a rank-and-file challenger in the union's quadrennial elections, which will also have contested polls for State leadership positions in Queensland and Victoria.
The International Trade Union Confederation is looking for a new general secretary after declaring it no longer has confidence in the Italian union leader who succeeded former ACTU president Sharan Burrow in the top job.
The heads of the RTBU Victorian branch's tram and bus division and its locomotive division are suing Victorian branch secretary Vik Sharma over union election material excluding candidates on their ticket, seeking orders to repay nearly $33,000 in publishing costs to the rail operations division.
The ROC is probing whether a CFMMEU branch is complying with financial obligations following an investigation that prompted a Federal Court case against its leader, while the watchdog has decided not to pursue the National Retail Association over membership irregularities.
The CFMMEU's construction and general division has blasted the AFP over an investigation that has dragged on since a raid on its Queensland offices in 2015, only to be dropped last month after the police admitted errors by digital forensics officers.
As ROC staff await their transfer to the FWC, the watchdog has found that a former AEU ACT branch secretary did not improperly use his position, while it is also pursuing the AWU and a CFMMEU mining and energy division Queensland district leader in the Federal Court.
Incoming CFMMEU construction and general division national secretary Zachary (Zach) Smith will take over from the long-serving Dave Noonan in April, after 15 years with the union and serving as leader and assistant leader of the ACT branch for the past three years.
The ROC has found the IEU WA branch's former secretary appears to have benefited from spending union funds but has decided not to pursue the matter given the time, resources and cost it would require and the branch's desire to drop it.
The ROC has resolved to seek penalties against the AWU in the Federal Court, after an 18-month investigation concluded it had committed 27,000 breaches over nine years of obligations to keep accurate membership records and "significantly overstated" the real numbers.
