Allan promises follow-the-money powers for IBAC amid Big Build corruption

Victoria’s peak integrity agency could be given greater powers and a broader jurisdiction to investigate corruption on Big Build construction sites and throughout the public sector, after an about-face from the Allan government on IBAC reform.

But this parliament will not consider any of the proposed changes, which Premier Jacinta Allan said would be introduced well after the November state election.

The announcement on Monday received a mixed response: integrity experts welcomed the prospect of long-awaited improvements to the state’s anti-corruption framework, the Greens expressed scepticism about the government’s commitment to reform, and the opposition described the delayed timeframe as a sham.

The about-face came as the premier disputed the claim that corruption on major project sites exposed by this masthead had cost taxpayers $15 billion but refused to put a price on criminal infiltration of the government’s Big Build program.

The $15 billion estimate was provided by Geoffrey Watson, SC, the author of a damning report into the CFMEU commissioned by the union’s administrator. The estimate was backed separately by the Fair Work Commission’s Murray Furlong.

Under a reform blueprint endorsed by cabinet, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission would be given follow-the-dollar powers similar to those currently available to the Auditor-General, a broader definition of corrupt conduct to make it easier to launch investigations, and greater scope to hold public hearings.

The finer details will be developed by a panel of integrity experts including representatives from IBAC, the Ombudsman, Integrity Oversight Victoria and Victoria Police. They have been given a reporting date of May 2027, with the resultant changes to be legislated by the end of next year.

Allan’s recognition of the need for IBAC to have follow-the-dollar powers to trace the misuse of public funds on major infrastructure sites follows almost two years of damaging revelations in this masthead’s Building Bad investigative series.

The premier, who has previously been reluctant to give the state’s anti-corruption watchdog sharper investigative teeth, described the proposed changes as “the most far-reaching overhaul” of the agency’s powers since it was established in 2012.

“Victoria’s anti-corruption framework must be transparent, and it must be fit for purpose,” she said. “I am no longer satisfied that IBAC has the powers it needs to do its job in full.”

The proposed changes were announced as part of the government’s response to a December 2025 report by parliament’s in