Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner

Allegations in the ABCC’s statement of claim

• John Holland Pty Ltd is the head contractor for the Tullamarine Airport Multilevel Car Park construction project at Melbourne Airport, Victoria.
• On Tuesday 24 February 2009, CFMEU officer, Mark Travers attended the site without authorisation from or notice to John Holland.
• Mr Travers convened an unauthorised meeting in the lunch-room area with employees of John Holland and employees of six contractors engaged at the site.
• Mr Travers was asked to leave the site by a site manager. Mr Travers refused to leave and directed abuse and profanities toward management.

Alleged contraventions

• The ABCC alleges that the CFMEU and Mr Travers acted in an improper manner while exercising rights as a permit holder, in contravention of section 767 (1) of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (WR Act).

ABCC Prosecution

• The ABCC filed proceedings in the Federal Magistrates Court at Melbourne on 16 December 2009. The first directions hearing is scheduled for 27 January 2010.

Penalties

• The maximum penalties that may be imposed by the courts for each contravention of the WR Act are $6,600 for individuals and $33,000 for the union.