The Federal Government should heed lessons learnt from the construction industry in its preference for businesses covered by union agreements in government procurement

5 June 2026

Master Builders Australia today reiterated its deep concern regarding the enterprise agreement provision contained in the Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment Bill that provides preference for businesses with union agreements.

The Federal Government should heed the lessons learnt from the construction industry.

Builders know from experience how this policy plays out in the market when a Government signals an expectation for union enterprise agreements if a tender is to be successful. In the end, this provision will send a message that if you don’t have a union backed bid then don’t bother lodging a tender.

This is on the back of years of the CFMEU manipulating government procurement for industrial purposes leading to increased costs borne by the taxpayer. This model should not be replicated across the Australian economy.

The Federal Government has provided assurances that this approach wouldn’t apply to building and construction given its express commitment of standalone procurement requirements for the industry.  Specially that the Government will not require building and construction businesses to have a union enterprise agreement, however, this is not explicit in the Bill, so concerns remain.

Master Builders believes the provision:

• Undermines freedom of association: the principle that workers have a right to join or not to join a union is a cornerstone of Australia’s workplace relations framework. The provision undermines this principle with a commercial incentive, outside of the bargaining framework, to enter into a union enterprise agreement.
• Undermines value for taxpayer funding in government procurement: appropriate, efficient and competitive Government procurement is essential to ensure the appropriate use of taxpayer money. This undermines at least two core components of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules; value for money and encouraging competition.

• Potentially creates a fertile ground for exploitative behaviour: At its worst the amendment provides fertile ground for CFMEU style tactics to apply to the entire economy. This was exemplified in the Victorian and Queensland infrastructure programs and through the ACT Secure Local Jobs Code that is under the spotlight in the matter of Operation Kingfisher currently before the ACT Integrity Commission.

We have consistently called for the Government’s approach to avoid replicating the ACT’s Secure Local Jobs Code or Queensland’s now-defunct Best Practice Industry Conditions, both of which have demonstrably hampered productive worksites and failed to deliver value for Australian taxpayers.

Master Builders Australia is calling for this provision in the Bill to be opposed. The utilisation of public procurement processes by various governments to the benefit of unions at the expense of taxpayers needs to end.

Media contact: Dylan Hafey, Media Advisor

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