New union laws potentially avoiding public scrutiny at the expense of taxpayers

24 June 2026

The Federal Government appears to be attempting to avoid parliamentary scrutiny on new laws that would allow the Government to provide preferential treatment to suppliers who have entered into union enterprise agreements.

The new preferential laws in the Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment Bill are deeply concerning as they enable the Government to use procurement processes and public money to pressure businesses into entering into agreements with unions.

This follows government procurement processes in the states, including the ACT’s Secure Local Jobs Code and Queensland’s now-defunct Best Practice Industry Conditions, being taken advantage of by unions and resulting in taxpayers getting less for their money.

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn says any attempt to guillotine debate in the Senate and to potentially avoid a Senate Inquiry is a slap in the face to taxpayers and to businesses who wish to tender for government contracts.

“Stifling debate and scrutiny begs the question, “what do they have to hide?” said Ms Wawn.

“Well, we know what they have to hide. As seen in Queensland and the ACT, Government procurement policies like these have been abused by unions, at the expense of the taxpayer. This model cannot be rolled out across all of Australia.

“The amount of money we’re talking about in government procurement in construction is enormous. Last year alone this was worth $92 billion across federal and state governments. The risk of abuse, like we have seen at the state level, means that it is essential that this legislation is subject to parliamentary scrutiny before a vote.

Master Builders Australia continues to oppose the Bill’s provision to allow the preferential treatment of union enterprise agreements. At the very least, a building and construction carve-out from these provisions, consistent with Governments commitments, must be included in the legislation.

Media contact: Dylan Hafey, Media Advisor

0497 330 064 | dylan.hafey@masterbuilders.com.au