Integrity figures join calls for scrutiny of Victoria’s $109 billion
Premier Jacinta Allan is facing renewed scrutiny over Victoria’s Big Build after fresh media reports and senior integrity figures intensified demands for a royal commission.
Victoria’s infrastructure agenda covers about $109 billion in projects across the state. For almost 10 years, Allan held the relevant ministerial responsibility before she became Premier in September 2023.
Former IBAC chief Robert Redlich and former Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass have now joined forces on the issue. They want an urgent royal commission into the programme and have described the matter as an “unprecedented historic scandal” linked to a decade of poor culture.
Both figures add political weight to the demand because they served in roles under Labor appointments. After reports by The Age and 60 Minutes, the Victorian Opposition also backed a royal commission and increased pressure on the Allan government.
Family First’s Jane Foreman also urged Victorian MPs to support a full inquiry into the Big Build and the conduct alleged on taxpayer-funded worksites.
“Robert Redlich prosecuted organised crime in the 1980s. Deborah Glass exposed a corrupt Labor minister. These are not political operatives, they are two of the most credible integrity figures this state has produced. When both of them say a royal commission is the only answer, Premier Allan should be ashamed that she is still resisting it,” Foreman said.
Contractor claims and regulator warnings
According to leaked material covered by The Age, major contractors claimed the state government directed them to tolerate CFMEU behaviour for “political reasons”. Claims included the $15 billion Melbourne Metro project, one of the headline works in the Big Build programme.
Media reports also raised allegations about bikie gang links on publicly funded construction sites. Principal contractors faced accusations that they knew about unlawful conduct, allowed it to continue, or helped people involved in it.
Outgoing Labour Hire Commissioner Steve Dargavel, who remained a serving regulator, added further weight to the concerns. In interviews with The Age and 60 Minutes, he said some principal contractors had engaged in “unlawful conduct” or supported others who did.
According to Dargavel, existing laws need strengthening so authorities can hold contractors to account. His comments added a regulatory dimension to the political and integrity concerns already surrounding the Big Build.
On 28 June 2026, The Age published its investigation into the allegations. Allan’s government did not respond to the newspaper’s questions for that report.
Since Redlich, Glass, the Victorian Opposition and Family First are all pushing for the same inquiry mechanism, the debate has moved beyond routine project criticism. Victoria’s largest infrastructure programme now faces calls for a royal commission with powers to examine the decade of allegations in full.
