CFMEU ran ‘reckless’ campaign after removal of favoured bureaucrat

November 10, 2026 — 4:45pmAttempts to reform the way workplace safety complaints were handled met strong resistance from the CFMEU, which instead insisted on funnelling all calls to a senior public servant who had removed a union-favoured bureaucrat, an inquiry has heard.Michael De’Ath, the former director-general of Queensland’s Industrial Relations Department, told the Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU and Misconduct in the Construction Industry on Tuesday it was the “most extreme obfuscation” he had experienced in his career.“I’ve worked multiple jurisdictions with multiple stakeholders over multiple portfolios,” he said.Former Department of Industrial Relations director-general Michael De’Ath told the inquiry he could not recall a phone call with Michael Ravbar.AAPIMAGE“If you had it on a scale of one to nine, the worst I would have encountered might be three. This is a nine.”The inquiry heard former deputy director-general Kym Bancroft had proposed a system requiring unions to lodge complaints through a central 1300-number hotline, rather than contacting senior public servants directly.But the CFMEU instead advised Bancroft calls regarding health and safety issues would instead be made directly to her.“[It was] completely inappropriate and actually quite reckless … [and] incredibly unsafe,” De’Ath said.Counsel assisting the inquiry Dimitri Ternovski suggested to De’Ath it was an attempt to apply pressure on Bancroft.“Without a doubt,” De’Ath replied.The inquiry heard an alternative arrangement was later introduced, involving regional directors sharing responsibility for after-hours calls, but De’Ath said the revised model still had significant shortcomings and the CFMEU continued to contact Bancroft directly.The commission also examined the reassignment of senior Workplace Health and Safety Queensland official Helen Burgess, whose close ties to the CFMEU have previously been aired in commission hearings.Shortly after starting her new role as deputy director-general, Bancroft had moved Burgess out of the role.Ternovski put it to De’Ath that then-CFMEU Queensland branch secretary Michael Ravbar had called him, upset she had been removed from her position.“I don’t recall a call from Mr Ravbar. There very may well have been one, I do not recall it,” De’Ath said.Ousted CFMEU leader Michael Ravbar.Alex EllinghausenTernovski: “So you don’t recall Mr Ravbar being very upset with you about this issue?”De’Ath: “He was permanently upset with me.”Phone records presented to the inquiry showed multiple calls and text messages between Ravbar and De’Ath on the morning of August 5, 2022, followed by a call from De’Ath to Bancroft.Commissioner Stuart Wood said it was hard to believe such a phone call would be forgotten.“You don’t recall Mr Ravbar ringing you about someone you’ve just employed for a week and a decision they’ve made?” he said.De’Ath: “Sorry, Commissioner, but I do not recall.”Wood: “It seems very unlikely to be true, Mr De’Ath.”De’Ath: “Commissioner, with respect, it’s absolutely true.”In her affidavit to the commission in June, Bancroft said she received a call from De’Ath, saying Ravbar was upset she had removed Burgess from her role.“When I received this call, I was very confused for a couple of reasons,” she said.“First, I did not know why Mr Ravbar, as an external stakeholder, was calling my leader about internal decisions being made at the [Office of Industrial Relations].“Second, I did not understand why the removal of Ms Burgess from her role as Director of CCFS [construction compliance and field services] would be so concerning to Mr Ravbar to prompt him to call [director-general] De’Ath, who was three levels above Ms Burgess.”De’Ath said Ravbar had never told him why he may have wanted Burgess to remain in that role.“It would be clear that there was a suggestion that it was a convenient position and person for Mr Ravbar and CFMEU,” he said.Ternovski asked whether there was a perception within the department that Burgess was “the CFMEU’s person within the OIR”.“That was certainly our concern, and trying to get to a place of establishing that was extremely difficult,” De’Ath said.Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.More:CFMEUBuilding BadCourtsQueensland governmentFor subscribersFrom our partners