CFMEU administrator could ban people from the union for life
Senator Jane Hume, a Liberal senator, brought this bill. It would remove the five-year cap on bans handed out by the outsider running the building arm of the construction union. He could throw out members or bar officials for longer. He could also make some bans already given longer.
Official name: Fair Work Amendment (Disqualified Officers) Bill 2026
- The building arm of the construction union has been run by an outsider since a 2024 law.
- Right now he can throw out members or bar officials for five years at most.
- This bill would let him set any length, including a ban for life.
- For 12 months he could also make bans of more than four years longer.
- It is a private bill and is still before the Senate.
Who it affects
- The CFMEU administrator: He is the outsider now running the union's building arm. He could throw out members and bar officials for any length of time. Today the limit is five years.
- CFMEU officials and members who have been disciplined: Their bans could be made longer or permanent, including some bans already given.
- People disqualified under the scheme: The law would make clear they count as removed people who cannot hold posts in registered unions or employer groups.
Five-year cap on CFMEU bans
The construction union (the CFMEU) is a large union. Its full name is the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union. In 2024 a federal law put its building arm, and each of its branches, under outside control. The building arm's formal name is the Construction and General Division.
Outside control means an outside person, called an administrator, runs it. Its elected leaders no longer do. This normally lasts five years.
A 2009 law covers registered unions and employer groups. Under it, the minister sets the rules for the outside control. These rules say the administrator can punish people.
He can throw out members. He can also bar officials from holding a union job, for up to five years. Barring them is called disqualifying them.
Senator Jane Hume brought this private bill to the Senate. A private bill is one the government did not bring. The Senate is the second house of Parliament, which checks bills.
Her notes on the bill say there have been public claims about how the union has behaved since the outside control began. They say the five-year limit was picked for no good reason.
The notes say the administrator, Michael Crosby, was asked on the ABC news show 7.30 about former union leader John Setka. He was asked why he only suspended Setka's membership for five years. He said the rules limited him to five years. Asked if the rules should change, he said "Maybe".
Five-year limit removed
The bill would change the law so the administrator can throw out members and bar officials "for any period".
It would make the same change to the minister's rules for the outside control. Those rules now cap a ban on joining again at five years.
So the administrator could choose a longer ban, or one with no end date, where he thinks it is deserved.
Who counts as removed
The law already has a list of "removed persons". These people should not hold jobs in registered unions and employer groups. The list covers people who were suspended or removed, or whose job was declared empty.
The bill would add people who were barred under the scheme to that list. Her notes say they are probably already covered, but this removes any doubt.
Longer bans for some
The bill would let the administrator change the length of a ban he gave before the bill starts. The ban must be longer than four years.
He would have 12 months from the start date to do this. Her notes say this is for cases where he may have wanted a longer ban but the five-year cap held him back.
Say an official was barred for five years in 2025. Under this bill the administrator could, within the 12 months, make that a ban for life.
Waiting in the Senate
The changes would start the day after the Governor-General signs the bill into law. The Governor-General is the King's stand-in in Australia.
Senator Hume brought the bill to the Senate on 19 August 2026. Debate on its main idea began that day. The Senate debated it again on 9 September 2026.
The bill is still before the Senate. The Senate would need to vote for it. The House of Representatives would then need to pass it before it could become law.
Its journey through Parliament
| 19 Aug 2026 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 19 Aug 2026 | Senate: Second reading moved |
| 09 Sep 2026 | Senate: Second reading debate |