CCF WA NEWS

CCF WA welcomes reforms to WA’s local government legislation that will improve transparency by requiring councils to publicly disclose how they assess tenders and why they have chosen a successful contractor.

CCF WA says the new legislation will increase transparency by ensuring councils explain how they assess tenders and why they have chosen a successful contractor.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the civil construction industry applauded Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley for listening and acting on the concerns raised in a recent CCF WA report. 

“Our report showed the lack of procurement transparency allowed by WA's Local Government Act is way out of step with similar legislation in other states,” Mr Graham said.

“The current commercial-in-confidence provision in our legislation is so all-encompassing, it basically allows councils to suppress all internal assessments and discussions related to contracts awarded. 

“The new Act will strike a much better balance by allowing confidentiality where tenderers have shared commercially sensitive information, while ensuring councils can’t use the excuse of commercial-in-confidence to avoid any explanation of why they chose one tenderer over another.

“Happily there are some councils that already recognise the importance of transparency and accountability. Progressive LGAs such as Cockburn, Gosnells and Joondalup publish detailed information when awarding contracts, including prices bid, and explain how and why the successful bidder was chosen -- so for these councils the reforms will be business as usual.

"We look forward to all councils achieving a similar standard.

“For construction contractors, the increased transparency will provide invaluable insights. Contractors understand they’re not going to win every tender, but what really frustrates them is when they lose but have no idea why, because the council claims that information is confidential.

“It’s hard to see how greater transparency is anything but a good thing, not just for contractors who want to know how they fared in the assessment process, but also for ratepayers seeking to understand how their rates are being spent.”

Background to the Local Government Act procurement reforms

Section 5.23 (2)(c) of the Local Government Act 1995 currently allows local government authorities to close council meetings to the public for any discussions and decisions related to “a contract entered into, or which may be entered into, by the local government”. This effectively allows councils to withhold all information related to contract awards, typically in confidential attachments to council minutes.

Section 5.23 (2)(c) will be replaced by a new commercial-in-confidence provision – 5.23 (4)(c) – which will specify that councils can only withhold “information contained in a tender received by the local government for a contract to the extent that the information is a tendered price, or a tendered methodology for calculating a price”.

The Minister for Local Government’s office has advised that work is underway to progress the implementation of the new Section 5.23.

Next year CCF WA proudly celebrates our 50th anniversary of representing the WA civil construction industry. By John Feary

It was a meeting at the iconic Herdsman Lake pub in the Perth suburb of Wembley that changed the course of the earthmoving industry in Western Australia. The meeting was in June 1975, although it seems no one is sure of the exact date.

Given the historic liking of hard-working contractors for a cool drink on a hot day as well as the Herdy’s reputation as one of Perth’s most popular entertainment pubs in that era, it would be easy to assume this was a rowdy gathering.

But there was a serious purpose this time. This was the meeting at which many of Perth’s hardest working and most resourceful contractors agreed to set up the Land Development Contractors Association.

In June 2025, the Civil Contractors Federation WA branch will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of that meeting, recognising the establishment of the LDCA represents the foundation of the modern earthmoving and civil construction industry body in Western Australia.

The LDCA operated in Perth for just 12 years, fighting on behalf of its members for greater access to the emerging business opportunities. Then, in 1987, the growing influence of national decision-making on infrastructure development and issues such as industrial relations resulted in the LDCA members agreeing to become the WA branch of the national Australian Earthmovers and Road Contractors Federation. Eight years later, with WA delegates taking an increasingly important role in national decision-making, the AERCF transitioned into the modern Civil Contractors Federation with branches in all states and its national office in Canberra.

What was once considered rather fondly by many members as “a bit of a gentlemen’s club” has become a peak industry group for companies involved in all aspects of civil construction and a federally registered employers union providing balance on industrial relations issue.

In the coming months, the CCF Bulletin will explore the events, the decisions and the background to the transition, drawing largely on the recollections of some of the people who were there. Given the nature of the industry 50 years ago, written records are quite sparse but the available evidence demonstrates clearly how these giants of the past assessed the circumstances, recognised the opportunities and protected the industry in very challenging circumstances.

Minister for Planning and Infrastructure Hon. Alannah MacTiernan MLC with the WA Earth Awards winners, 2002.

Prior to the famous Herdy meeting in 1975, there had been several attempts by earthmoving contractors as well as equipment suppliers to form representative groups in Perth. Most were probably focused more on picking venues for long lunches than industrial politicking.

For, despite its critical importance to all aspects of construction, earthmoving as an industrial sector was barely recognised in the early years of Western Australian development.

When the first European settlers led by Captain James Stirling arrived off the Perth coast in June 1829, it should have been obvious that the task of building a new settlement from scratch in the vast landmass would require a large and trained workforce.

It should have been obvious, but within 10 years the critical shortage of skilled workers had left the economy on the brink of collapse due to the inability to clear land and construct roads.

While the Swan River Colony had been proudly planned and promoted as a free settlement, the colonists were now demanding access to convicts from the UK’s teeming prisons to save them.

Nearly 10,000 convicts were transported to Fremantle between 1850 and 1887 with the specific aim of creating a workforce for public construction and infrastructure. These were not all the uneducated, unskilled city vagrants of popular imagining. A number had experience as carpenters, blacksmiths and stonemasons, others had worked on farms before falling foul of the law.

In addition, the British authorities had set up skills training courses inside the UK prison hulks that would equip the law-breakers to work in brickmaking, construction of walls and simple buildings. The unskilled prisoners could be used to build roads, clear land and plough fields, produce crops and collect shells to crush for lime mortar.

During and after the convict era, prisoners who had completed their jail time (known as ticket of leave men) then became available to work for private citizens as well as on public projects. The state and federal government departments that were responsible for major public works relied heavily on private contractors, generally appointed through public tendering, to complement their large workforces.

Throughout the century that followed, the provision of essential services and infrastructure including roads, railways, ports, bridges and public buildings became increasingly critical to the growth of residential and industrial projects, land developments and the emergence of the mining sector.

The West Australian gold rushes that began in the 1880s and completion of the Goldfields water pipeline in 1903 helped underpin the state’s growth against further downturns, and there was a further dramatic economic recovery from the inrush of European migrants following World War 2.

By the 1970s, the growth in the mining sector and increasing government infrastructure investment was intensifying. One acute frustration for the more ambitious contractors was that state government departments such as Main Roads and the Water Corporation, as well as many local councils, refused to open jobs such as roadworks and utility works for outside tenders.

Under the leadership of inaugural president Ross Walker (1975-79) and subsequently by Dudley Campbell (1979-82), Mike Moloney (1982-84) and Jim Giumelli (1984-87), the LDCA lobbied strongly for earthmovers for the right to undertake a full range of work in land development.

The transition of the LDCA to the AERCF under president John Vincent (1987-89), followed by Alex Wolfe (1989-92) and Lance Croker (1992-94) delivered the independence as well as the national partnerships that the industry needed. Then, its next big step was to set up its own administrative structure.

AERCF National Executive Director Doug Huett at an AERCF National Council Meeting in WA, 1993.

Lance Croker (centre) accepting his CCF National Life Membership with CCF WA CEO Mike Morris (left) and President Philip Marsh (right), 1998.

The LDCA/AERCF originally operated as one of many industry units within the Confederation of WA Industry (subsequently the Perth Chamber of Commerce and Industry), which provided secretarial services and could be called on to lobby on the members’ behalf. However, the members became increasing concerned that part-time lobbying effort was not always effective, particularly when their issue might conflict with the views of the chamber’s bigger and more powerful member companies.

In early 1993, the AERCF recruited civil engineer Mike Morris from Victoria to be its initial executive director. Morris worked closely with Lance Croker and Reg Toohey, who was the state’s first delegate to the national body, in robust and occasionally heated national debates that ultimately led to AERCF making way for the new Civil Contractors Federation in 1995.

Over more than 13 years, Morris took responsibility for the introduction of high standards of occupational health and safety, training, environmental responsibility, human relations and compliance for the whole of the WA industry. He also built an extensive calendar of seminars, workshops, networking and social activities that became, and remain, a key factor in the CCF’s popularity.

The CCF Bulletin will trace other aspects of the last 50 years in its 2025 editions.

The voice of the industry for 50 years

WA’s peak civil infrastructure industry group says it’s unfair to criticise the WA State Government for the Federal Government’s failure to adequately address shortages of skilled excavator operators.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the State Government should be commended for consistently striving to provide excavator operators and other civil construction workers fair access to migration and training incentives – in stark contrast to the Federal Government’s appalling record in both areas.

“There’s no doubt the Federal Government has again dropped the ball with the exclusion of excavator and crane operators from its Core Skills Occupation List,” Mr Graham said. “But for our industry, this is just another setback in a long history of civil construction skills shortages being ignored by the Feds.”

Mr Graham said the omission of skilled excavator and crane operators from the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) was inevitable given the Federal Government’s insistence on basing the list around the outdated ANZSCO skills classification system, which classifies all plant and machinery operators as unskilled and therefore ineligible. He said CCF had been advocating for years for the Federal Government to abandon this ‘computer says no’ attitude and recognise genuine civil construction skills shortages, with no success.

“But recent commentary that the State Government should share the blame for Canberra's mess makes no sense either,” Mr Graham said. “In fact, our State Government deserves a pat on the back for consistently acting to boost civil construction skills, and showing it understands that you can't build houses without housing lots, which requires skilled plant operators and pipelayers.

“We saw evidence of this only a few days ago when excavator operators and pipelayers were included as eligible for the $10,000 relocation bonus, aimed at encouraging interstate migration.

“And earlier this year, the State Government ensured the inclusion of excavator, loader and directional drill operators in its new WA Designated Area Migration Agreement, which helps employers bypass Federal migration roadblocks.”

Mr Graham said the State Government was also a strong supporter of civil construction skills through its apprenticeship funding programs – unlike the Federal Government, which refuses all civil construction apprentices, including apprentice plant operators, access to its Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System funding.

“This State Government actually created the civil construction apprenticeship, upgrading it from a traineeship three years ago,” Mr Graham said. “And our apprentices enjoy the same level of Construction Training Fund financial support as the building trades.

“In addition, civil apprentices working in residential subdivision construction are eligible for the State Government’s ongoing Group Training Organisation Wage Subsidy program.

“With this track record of practical actions supporting civil construction skills, we think it’s absurd to suggest that the Premier and his Government are somehow responsible for the Federal Government’s continued failure to show anything like a similar level of support.

“By all means though, we encourage the Premier to use his influence to try to sway Federal policy – the more voices calling for common sense, the better.”

Tracc Civil’s Watermark Stage 1 Bulk Earthworks and Civil Works project is the recipient of the new WA Earth Award for Land Development projects.

WA Earth Awards Chief Judge Peter Rowles said the Watermark project was the strongest of three high-quality land development projects entered by Tracc Civil in the 2024 WA Earth Awards.

“It was great to see Tracc put forward three projects this year, as quite often we don’t see any entries from subdivision contractors,” Mr Rowles said. 

“With this special Earth Award we want to celebrate excellence in land development and challenge the perception that building a subdivision is just routine civil construction. 

“In many ways, it can be just as, if not more challenging to build a subdivision than a major government road project. Land development contractors need to manage earthworks, drainage, sewer, water, electrical, NBN, gas, pavements, concrete and other structural works as well as environmental, safety, and community engagement – often with minimal resources and sometimes to incomplete designs and very tight schedules and budgets.

“That’s why we think land development deserves an Earth Award. We hope other states agree and it can become a national award.”

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said it had been a pleasure to congratulate the Tracc team on their win.

“We originally thought of inaugurating this award next year, as part of our 50th birthday, but the judges were so impressed with the quality of Tracc’s work at Watermark that we thought it would be a shame to wait,” Mr Graham said. “It’s a project that certainly deserves to be recognised.”

Tao Bourton (Yolk Property Group), Frank Janssen (Tracc Civil), Earth Awards judge Peter Rowles, Simon Hull and Debarnab Shankar Roy (Tracc Civil) on site at the Watermark project.

The Civil Contractors Federation commends the Federal Opposition’s $5 billion policy to fast-track the construction of housing enabling infrastructure.

CCF National CEO Nicholas Proud said: “You cannot spend a dollar on housing until you spend a dollar on housing enabling civil infrastructure. Water, sewerage, energy, and roads must come first for new housing estates, and infrastructure capacity upgrades are required in brownfield areas.

“Infrastructure constraints are a major reason housing supply is at decade lows. While other forms of stimulus have been tried, housing enabling civil infrastructure will be key to unblocking housing supply pipelines and unlocking doors.

“Such policies are not new, but they are highly effective. Post-World War II, state governments competed to provide housing enabling infrastructure to attract migrants. Since that time, we have shifted infrastructure costs onto the end consumer.

“The Federal Opposition’s policy recognises that the cost of enabling infrastructure is blocking the activation of land for housing. Addressing this ‘missing link’ will help revive housing starts.”

Major government transport, water and maritime infrastructure projects have been honoured at the Civil Contractors Federation WA’s annual Earth Awards for excellence in civil construction.

The Earth Award in the highest value category, for projects over $150 million, was a tight three-way contest between major transport projects Tonkin Gap, Yanchep Rail Extension, and the New Fitzroy River Bridge, with the Tonkin Gap project just prevailing.

In the $75 million - $150 million category, State-owned land developer DevelopmentWA’s Ocean Reef Marina Breakwaters project just edged out the Thomas Road Over Rail Bridge, while Water Corporation’s Quinns Main Sewer project claimed the Earth Award in the $30 million - $75 million category.

CCF WA Chief Executive Officer Andy Graham said the dominance of State Government projects in the high-value project categories underlined the importance of public infrastructure to the civil construction sector.

“Civil contractors love building iconic public infrastructure, and if that involves some unique challenges, then all the better,” Mr Graham said.

“Friday night’s Earth Awards gala dinner was a celebration of infrastructure achievements big and small, with 21 finalists across the seven categories.

“Congratulations to all the WA Earth Award winners and we wish them well at the National Earth Awards in Canberra in November.”

2024 WA Earth Award winners

Project Value up to $2 million: Neo Civil – Ocean Beach Seawall (Client: Shire of Denmark)

Works for the seawall included installation of 38 circular hollow steel piles; installation of a 75m retaining wall incorporating vinyl sheet piles with timber and steel walers and approximately 1000m of jarrah cladding. 1200 tonnes of core and armour rock were used. Local conditions and unforeseen delays in supply of materials presented challenges in staging the works, and the onset of winter necessitated acceleration of the construction programme for the seawall.

Project Value up to $2 - 5 million: DJ Mac Cormick Constructions – Baldivis Stillwater Drive Type 350 Pump Station (Client: BMD Constructions for Water Corporation)

Custom fabricated formwork, with an integrated safety platform, allowed working on each liner from the middle of the caisson up to the final pour height, ensuring safety and quality and allowing a fast-paced concrete pour sequence. Caisson shafts were constructed over 11m deep, with 10.4m being below the groundwater table, presenting significant engineering challenges. DJMC’s innovative approach included sacrificing entrance rings to prevent shaft flooding post micro-tunnelling, and a custom-manufactured pick attached to the clamshell excavator to prevent the caissons from sinking on an angle.

Project Value $5-10 million: Maritime Constructions – Carnarvon Dredging and Babbage Island Spit Stabilisation (Client: Department of Transport)

Access to the Carnarvon Fascine had become restricted following a cyclone in 2017. Dredged material was pumped to an outfall point on the Babbage Island Spit and directed through a network of temporary earthen bunds before the return water was released into the ocean. The design called for a dune shape mimicking a natural dune, including out-of-phase undulations along the dune. Operators were provided varied target levels with relatively large tolerances, so that the final surface appeared to have been shaped by nature.

Project Value $10-30 million: DM Civil – ATCO East Perth Power Station Pipeline (Client: ATCO Gas Australia)

DM Civil constructed around 7.6km of DN250 steel high pressure gas pipeline in two packages, using a mixture of horizontal directional drilling, pilot boring and open excavation. Significant challenges included simultaneous construction operations with many third parties, including major transport projects and another ATCO gas pipeline project; and works on extremely busy arterial roads and in tight suburban and industrial areas, requiring intensive traffic management. Innovative construction methodologies expedited the works and reduce the impact on stakeholders and the built environment.

Project Value $30-75 million: Quinns Main Sewer Extension & Associated Works – Rob Carr and Water Corporation (Client: Water Corporation)

This design and construct project featured 1.8 kilometres of tunnelling, including a technically challenging curved drive over 500 metres long beneath a freeway and railway. With shafts reaching depths of up to 27 metres, and the incorporation of two vortex structures, the engineering precision showcased was exceptional. Stakeholder management was crucial, involving coordination with schools, residents, and multiple government bodies to minimise impact and enhance community relations. Safety and environmental stewardship were paramount, constantly managing risk for the team, the public, and the national park.

Project Value $75-150 million: WA Limestone and Italia Stone Group Joint Venture - Ocean Reef Marina Breakwaters (Client: DevelopmentWA)

The JV constructed the breakwater and revetment structures with a combined length of 2km of seawall and 1km of revetment wall. The work scope included reuse of existing breakwater material; placement of geotextile, limestone core armour and granite armour; and excavation of dredging areas. Material supply was the biggest challenge for the project, with the management of importing 1.25 million tonnes of rock across more than 30 delivery sites impacting the delivery schedule. Working with inclement weather and completing significant trucking and earthworks within an urbanised area were also challenges.

Project Value >$150 Million: Tonkin Gap Alliance – Tonkin Gap Project and Associated Works (Client: Main Roads WA and Public Transport Authority)

The Tonkin Gap Alliance, comprising of BMD Construction, Georgiou Group, WA Limestone, BG&E and GHD, worked with Main Roads and Public Transport Authority to deliver a project that removed a well-known bottleneck and created thousands of jobs and better connectivity. The project delivered improved traffic flow and safety, and enhanced facilities for cyclists, pedestrians, and the community. Its supply chain involved over 300 subcontractors and suppliers delivering packages of work with a focus on local spend and supply, emerging and Aboriginal-owned businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Judges' Award: Fitzroy Bridge Alliance – The New Fitzroy River Bridge Project (Client: Main Roads Western Australia)

The original bridge was damaged beyond repair by floods in January 2023. Delivered by the Fitzroy Bridge Alliance comprising BMD Constructions, Georgiou, and BG&E for Main Roads Western Australia, the project began in February 2023 and the bridge opened to all traffic in December 2023, six months ahead of schedule. Strong collaboration with government, local and national suppliers and contractors, and the community contributed to the high quality and speed of the project delivery. Key outcomes included improving the safety and climate-resilience of the transport link and supporting social and economic development of the Fitzroy Valley.

For photos of projects and presentations, contact Emily Giglia egiglia@ccfwa.com.au

The Civil Contractors Federation welcomes the appointment of Mr. Mark Irving KC as the independent administrator of the Construction and General Division of the CFMEU and its associated state branches.

CCF National CEO Nicholas Proud said: “This appointment marks a critical and long-awaited turning point in addressing the deeply ingrained culture of intimidation and coercion that has plagued civil construction sites across the nation.

“For too long, our members have operated under the shadow of these aggressive practices, which have stifled productivity, inflated costs, and created an environment of fear and uncertainty. The presence of an independent administrator of Mr. Irving’s calibre brings a renewed hope that the CFMEU can be steered back to its fundamental purpose—representing the legitimate interests of workers, rather than perpetuating a culture of hostility.

“The role of the administrator is not just procedural; it is pivotal in driving cultural change within the union. Mr. Irving has a massive and important responsibility to guide the CFMEU back to its core mission, ensuring that it genuinely serves the needs of its members and restores trust and respect within the industry. This is not merely about regulatory compliance; it is about re-establishing a culture of fairness, collaboration, and mutual respect on our worksites.

“For the members of the CCF, this development is a significant relief. It signals an opportunity to engage with the Fair Work Commission and other authorities without the looming fear of retribution or recrimination. It will ensure that Members can work again with confidence with union employees’ representatives in a collaborative manner to get on with building community enabling infrastructure and reconfiguring the settings to build the country out of the challenges we face today.”

Background

The CFMEU Construction and General Division is officially in administration in all states and territories in Australia, with 270 union officials removed from office immediately (none from WA) following the introduction of new laws last week. Click here to read the list of union officials removed from office (see Annexure B), as well as a list of those who maintain their position (see Annexure C).

Mark Irving KC has been appointed as the administrator, with broad powers.

Key aspects in the new laws include:

• Prevention of officers who no longer hold office from being bargaining representatives. The Fair Work Commission can issue a certificate allowing the former officer to be a bargaining representative should they satisfy criteria
• Powers of the Administrator:
• • Suspension or removal of officers
  • Termination of employees
  • Alteration of the rules
• The Administrator will be in place for a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years
• The Administrator must establish a complaints procedure for reporting complaints against current or former employees, delegates, officers or members of the CFMEU. The procedure must prevent the disclosure of the identity of the complainant, to anyone other than the person receiving the complaint.
• Removed persons must not become an officer or employee of a branch or organisation without a certificate from the Fair Work Commission. The Fair Work Commission must find they are a fit and proper person.
• The Administrator must report to Federal Parliament every six months.

While in administration, the CFMEU can continue to:

• Function as a union and represent employees
• Hold of right of entry permits
• Negotiate enterprise agreements

CCF Advocacy

CCF has been advocating at a national level, working very closely with both Senator the Hon Murray Watt, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Murray Furlong, General Manager Fair Work Commission, as well as the Federal Opposition to get the new laws passed. CCF has compiled a list of asks for further legislative change. To see the one-page summary, click here.

Here in WA, we have again urged the State Government to reconsider the WA Best Practice Industry Conditions (WA BPIC) policy, which will impose mandatory CFMEU rates and conditions on its major projects.

A recent CCF WA media release pointed out that the risks of implementing the CFMEU-friendly WA Best Practice Industry Conditions policy on Western Australian infrastructure projects far exceeded any potential rewards. When asked to respond, a State Government spokesperson took issue with our description of WA BPIC as a CFMEU enterprise agreement. Really? It could hardly be more obvious. Entire sections of WA BPIC are copied from CFMEU templates: the pay rates, the allowances, the CFMEU-specific benefits and conditions. BPIC even compels non-unionised businesses to check with the CFMEU before making decisions.

What has driven the State Government to take this extraordinary step of compelling private sector employers to replace their existing, lawful, Fair Work-endorsed enterprise agreements with a CFMEU agreement?

Well, according to the same government spokesperson, it’s to “provide decent working conditions” and ensure workers “are paid what they deserve”.

I'm sure it will come as a surprise to many that our industry's rates and conditions are so bad that this unprecedented government intervention is deemed necessary, and that Fair Work-endorsed EAs and the National Employment Standards are no longer decent.

The WA BPIC conditions are undoubtedly generous. There's the CFMEU-standard 36-hour week and fortnightly RDO. Employers must pay $5436.60 per year per employee to a CFMEU-nominated redundancy fund and for various insurances (as per the CFMEU template).

If this is how the State Government is going to define decent, then it risks setting an unreasonably high bar, which few employers in WA (including the State Government itself) can attain.

What about the claim that BPIC workers will be paid what they deserve? If that’s the case, then they will be some of the most extraordinarily deserving construction workers in WA. The only workers anywhere near as deserving are – you guessed it – those covered by other CFMEU enterprise agreements.

WA BPIC workers will receive about $10 per hour more than the typical over-award rates for civil construction workers on smaller government projects and residential subdivisions. They’ll also get up to $10 per hour more than Main Roads' own in-house construction workers, and experienced, diploma-qualified enrolled nurses in public hospitals.

That's a lot of less-deserving people.

Our State Government is a highly valued client, and civil contractors love creating important infrastructure. If the government wants all workers on major projects to receive CFMEU conditions and be paid CFMEU rates, we will of course oblige, and all of us as taxpayers will wear the cost (and with 5% annual pay rises locked in, that cost will keep growing).

But let’s not portray this policy as a means to achieve fairness and decency, and let’s call WA BPIC what it is.

Western Australia’s peak civil construction industry body has urged the State Government to shelve its WA Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC) policy rather than risk handing the CFMEU huge power on major infrastructure projects.

The Civil Contractors Federation WA (CCF WA) says the CFMEU WA branch may not be crooked and corrupt but it certainly can't be trusted with the excessive power being handed to it by WA BPIC. 

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said WA BPIC stipulated mandatory pay and conditions on infrastructure projects, and did not even go close to meeting the "genuine agreement" test for major project agreements laid down by Federal Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke this week.

"If BPIC didn't pass the sniff test last week, it's well and truly on the nose this week," Mr Graham said. "Minister Burke's investigators need to take a close look at this arrangement.

“Contractors and subcontractors on the Tonkin Highway Extension project have no choice but to comply with WA BPIC – they were not even consulted, let alone reached genuine agreement.

“Clearly though, the CFMEU was consulted, because the WA BPIC document is effectively a CFMEU pattern employment agreement.

"Mandating BPIC on the Tonkin Highway Extension is the first step to all government projects being 100 per cent union sites, no ticket no start, like we see on high rise building sites in the city, where as long as you join the union you're safe.

"We don't want that toxic culture in our sector. Companies and employees are of course always welcome to work with the union, but it should be their choice, not a government policy.

“CCF WA believes no government should be forcing law-abiding businesses, with existing Fair Work-endorsed enterprise agreements in place, to tear those agreements up and comply with a set of union-dictated terms and rates.

Mr Graham said the WA BPIC agreement gave the CFMEU excessive rights to interfere in business operations and included onerous consultation requirements which far exceeded those in the Fair Work Act.

“One BPIC clause requires businesses to give the CFMEU detailed advice at least 28 days before engaging any company to do any work, whether or not this will have any effect at all on employees. It’s not clear why the union needs all that information, nor what it will do with the information.

"That's just one example -- the CFMEU's fingerprints are all over BPIC."

Mr Graham said CCF WA freely acknowledged the CFMEU WA was better behaved than other states. "But they're still the CFMEU -- they still have a long history of using threats and intimidation to get their way. Their slogan is ‘whatever it takes’, and everyone in the industry knows that's a motto that some of their organisers still proudly live by.

“That's why there has to be a balance. But WA BPIC tips the scales way too far.

“We don’t even have to imagine what our project sites might look like when BPIC gives the CFMEU free rein to do 'whatever it takes' in WA. Just look over east at what’s happening in Queensland and Victoria under similar so-called best practice union-friendly policies.

“Construction costs have shot up and productivity has declined – why would we risk that in WA?

“Three years of BPIC in Queensland has emboldened the CFMEU to launch increasingly bitter and personal attacks on businesses and employees – why would we risk the psychosocial health of Western Australians?

“Weighing this all up, how can we even contemplate risking all of the destructive effects of BPIC – the added cost of infrastructure and housing, the inevitable industrial unrest and project delays, the stress on local businesses and workforces – just to satisfy a union’s expansion plans?”

Federal Government advisory body Jobs and Skills Australia has copped some criticism this week for its draft Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), which will define the occupations eligible for the new Core Skills Pathway – a key component of Federal skilled migration reforms.

Jobs and Skills Australia published three lists: skilled occupations it’s confident should be on the CSOL; occupations it’s sure shouldn’t be; and occupations it was unsure about.

Looking at these three lists, some have wondered if Jobs and Skills Australia is aware there’s a housing crisis fuelled by critical construction skills shortages. The Urban Taskforce Australia asked why yoga instructors and dog handlers are on the ‘confident on’ list while bricklayers, glaziers and plasterers are not. Master Builders CEO Denita Wawn said : “We cannot build homes with wellness instructors, we need tradies, and they must be on the definite list for skilled migration.”

We agree, but there’s a more fundamental problem, and that is the total absence of trade-level civil construction skills from any of the CSOL consultation lists.

Before the bricklayers and plasterers can do their stuff, the civil construction trades have to do theirs first. Without housing-enabling civil infrastructure, new home builds cannot commence. But you won’t find any trade-level civil construction occupations on the CSOL.

In drafting the CSOL, Jobs and Skills Australia has only considered occupations classed at Skill Levels 1,2 and 3 in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO). Civil construction occupations such as excavator operator and pipelayer are classed at ANZSCO Skill Level 4, so they weren’t even considered for the CSOL.

Frustratingly for our sector, this omission ignores the government's clear intent in its Migration Strategy, which states that the Core Skills Pathway may include “trades workers, machinery operators and drivers, and labourers”, i.e. Skill Level 4 and 5 occupations – subject to those occupations being on the CSOL and workers being paid above the TSMIT.

The writers of the Migration Strategy clearly signalled that they want to see common-sense skilled migration settings that break away from ANZSCO’s outdated and inflexible definition of ‘skilled’. Jobs and Skills Australia seems to have missed this signal.

When the Migration Strategy was published (December 2023), CCF welcomed the proposed Core Skills Pathway. We noted that civil construction 'tradies' had been locked out of our country’s skilled migration pathways for too long due to ANZSCO’s outdated classifications.

Now we find that Jobs and Skills Australia has decided to stick with the ANZSCO ‘rules’ despite the Migration Strategy clearly inviting a more flexible, common-sense approach.

As the voice of our industry, CCF has pointed all of this out in our submission to Jobs and Skills Australia CSOL consultation. But the terms of reference for the consultation made it clear that they are only considering ANZSCO Skill Level 1-3 occupations, so we're not hopeful.

Hopefully though this is just a roadblock and the Federal Immigration Minister, who has the final say, will rule in favour of common sense and include skilled civil construction occupations -- and bricklayers and plasterers too!

- Andy Graham, CCF WA CEO