Here’s how to put the building crooks in jail, where they belong

July 5, 2026 — 5:00am

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Criminal infiltration of the building industry, and the resultant violence and squandering of public monies has been widely reported over recent years. An obvious question suggests itself – why is the industry so attractive to criminals? Simply, it’s the easy opportunity for tax evasion and money laundering the industry affords.

I am a former CFMEU secretary in regular contact with current officials. Everyone in the industry agrees the situation today is dire with rorts in almost every corner. Three of the most significant problems are cash payments, sham contracting and “phoenixing”.

Today, cash payments are a pervasive problem across commercial construction. With small jobs, it’s common for two prices to be quoted: one with cash payments and the other with a more expensive “on the books” quote. On larger sites, the influx of criminals and bikies into the industry over the last 15 years has seen money laundering explode. Big contracting or labour hire outfits that are owned (overtly or covertly) by criminals are washing money from organised crime by paying the workers and small suppliers in cash. Sometimes all overtime is paid in cash, sometimes a crew of “cashies” have their full wage in cash. All sorts of combinations of official wages and cash occur - and it’s happening on every........

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