Recommendation 2 - 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.