- Date:
- 18 Dec 2024
On 20 July 2024, the Premier established the Formal Review into the Victorian Government Bodies’ Engagement with Construction Companies and Construction Unions (Wilson Review) to consider how Victorian Government bodies interact with construction companies and unions. The review was established to recommend ways of strengthening government bodies’ ability to respond to allegations of criminal and other unlawful conduct in the Victorian construction sector.
The final report of the Wilson Review was published 18 December 2024 together with the Victoria Government response. The report made eight recommendations that were all accepted in full or in principle by Government.
Recommendation 1 - Construction Complaints Referral Service
Workforce Inspectorate Victoria receives and refers complaints regarding allegations of unlawful conduct or corruption related to Victorian Government construction projects under the Workforce Inspectorate Act 2020.
All reports are assessed based on the information provided to ensure they are referred to the correct agency or body.
Reports can be made to Workforce Inspectorate Victoria via its Construction Complaints Referral Service(opens in a new window).
Recommendation 2 - Alliance
Alliance to address allegations of criminal or unlawful conduct on public construction sites in Victoria.
Work of the Alliance
The Alliance brings together key government agencies to enable an effective exchange of information and a collaborative approach to further support the Victorian Government’s response to criminal or unlawful conduct on Victorian Government construction sites.
The stated purpose of the Alliance is to facilitate meetings of state and federal law enforcement agencies and regulators and other relevant entities that play a role in addressing allegations of criminal or unlawful conduct on public construction sites in Victoria.
The Alliance is not intended to duplicate the work of the national Joint Agency Working Group (JAWG) chaired by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) or intersect with internal Victoria Police operational coordination arrangements and investigative processes.
Meetings of the Alliance occur regularly and are chaired by Victoria Police. Senior officials from Victorian agencies including Victoria Police, the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority, Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Labour Hire Authority, WorkSafe Victoria and the Department of Treasury and Finance have participated on the Alliance. Victorian officials are also joined by senior officials from the Australian Federal Police, Fair Work Ombudsman and Fair Work Commission.
The work of the Alliance should not be viewed in isolation. Important reforms have been made to the laws governing labour hire licensing, and the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria has now commenced operation of a complaints referral service for public sector construction. Government standard form contracts, tendering materials, and related policies were updated to strengthen obligations on principal contractors to report suspected unlawful conduct.
Download the Terms of Reference
Recommendations 3-6 - Labour Hire Reforms
The Labour Hire Legislation Amendment (Licensing) Act 2025 was passed by Parliament on 9 December 2025. This Act strengthens the powers of the Labour Hire Authority (LHA) in line with recommendations 3 – 6 of the Formal Review into the Victorian Government Bodies’ Engagement with Construction Companies and Construction Unions (Wilson review) by providing for:
- a wider ‘fit and proper person’ test (recommendation 3)
- clarification of the general definition ‘provides labour hire services’ (recommendation 4)
- extended notice to produce powers (recommendation 5)
- expanded powers for the LHA to publish information about its activities (recommendation 6).
The changes are being implemented in stages, commencing in late 2025 and continuing in 2026.
Changes that are operating
On 24 December 2025, the first amendments commenced. Broadly, these amendments implement recommendations 5 and 6 of the Wilson Review by:
- strengthening LHA’s information-gathering powers to better equip LHA to obtain documents from third parties in support of investigating, monitoring and enforcing the Act and Regulations
- increasing LHA’s ability to publish information about its work, including contextual information about licensing actions – such as the reasons for a licence cancellation – to promote compliance and educate hosts and providers about their duties, rights and obligations under the labour hire scheme
- enabling the LHA Commissioner to share information relating to the labour hire industry with other government agencies and the responsible Minister, where it is in the public interest.
On 1 June 2026, the second tranche of amendments relating to suitability requirements commenced. These amendments, amongst other things, implement recommendation 3 of the Wilson Review.
A stronger fit and proper person test
People who wish to be involved in running a labour hire company – as a nominated officer or relevant person – need to pass a more rigorous ‘fit and proper person test’.
LHA can consider new factors to determine whether a person is fit and proper, including:
- if the person is under the control or influence of another person who is not fit and proper
- the person’s character, including their honesty, integrity and professionalism.
Overall compliance is more important
LHA has more scope to assess compliance with relevant laws to make licensing decisions – including to refuse an application or cancel a licence – by considering:
- previous, current and ongoing compliance with relevant laws
- a wider range of relevant laws, in addition to the existing labour hire and workplace laws, including laws relating to bankruptcy, consumer protection, fair trading and corporate regulation.
Businesses must be financially viable
To apply for or renew a licence, a labour hire business needs to declare that they are financially viable, and LHA must be satisfied that a business is financially viable.
Changes coming later in 2026
In the latter half of 2026, the final legislative amendments will commence. These changes broadly implement the intent of recommendation 4 of the Wilson Review by amending the definition of ‘provides labour hire services’. These changes will provide clarity about who is labour hire provider making it easier for businesses to understand their obligations.
Further amendments to the labour hire regulations in line with recommendation 4 will be considered following the preparation of the requisite regulatory impact statement.
For further information go to Labour hire law changes 2026.
Recommendation 7 - Reporting criminal and unlawful conduct on public construction projects
The Victorian Government’s policy on reporting criminal and unlawful conduct on public construction projects sets out requirements about reporting and responding to criminal or unlawful conduct in connection with public construction projects.
Reports can be made to Workforce Inspectorate Victoria (WIV) through its Construction Complaints Referral Service(opens in a new window) (CCRS).
For questions on the policy please contact - construction.procurement@dtf.vic.gov.au.
Model contractual clauses to support implementation of the Policy can be found at - https://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/practitioners-toolkit-standard-form-contracts(opens in a new window).
For further information on the policy visit Reporting criminal and unlawful conduct on public construction projects policy.
Recommendation 8 - Implementation Review
The Wilson Review also proposed that implementation of the Review’s recommendations and their impact is to be evaluated and the government would then consider whether future reforms are needed to provide Victorian government bodies with the powers to investigate and respond to allegations of criminal or other unlawful conduct in the Victorian construction sector.
The implementation review is not yet due.