‘Had an absolute crack’: Top player in Big Build clean-up steps down

A top official leading the clean-up of Victoria’s scandal-ridden construction sector will step aside from his role in August, leaving the state without a key figure in the fight against corruption and worker exploitation in the building industry.

Labour Hire Licensing Commissioner Steve Dargavel has told staff he intends to leave on the eight-year anniversary of his appointment as Victoria’s chief regulator of businesses that supply tens of thousands of temporary workers to construction sites, the agriculture sector, the private security industry and other parts of the state economy relying on itinerant labour.

During his tenure, Dargavel has chalked up significant wins investigating and penalising companies exploiting vulnerable migrant workers on farms. He also recently gained national attention for calling out retail giants Coles and Wesfarmers for perpetuating the exploitation of security guards in the retail sector and employed by the now-collapsed and disgraced security giant MA Services Group.

But it has been Dargavel’s efforts combating allegedly unscrupulous temporary worker supply firms in the construction sector that attracted the most scrutiny, given the suspected rampant infiltration by organised crime figures and corrupt CFMEU officials in the operations of labour hire companies turning over hundreds of millions of dollars on the state government’s Big Build.

Over the past 12 months, Dargavel has sought to shut down several firms accused of wrongdoing, sparking fierce legal challenges from the companies but winning the private praise of police agencies separately combating crime in the construction sector.

Dargavel’s decision to quit is a blow to the state government, leaving it with one fewer aggressive senior enforcer attacking wrongdoing in a sector historically resistant to the clean-up efforts of law enforcement agencies and regulators.

Dargavel’s work has also been cited repeatedly by Premier Jacinta Allan as evidence that her strategy is working to clean up the government’s signature $100 billion Big Build infrastructure program.

In a statement, Dargavel praised the work of his investigators, but flagged that much was yet to be done to clean up the labour hire industry.

“Our highly capable staff, with the support of government and agency partners, have taken hundreds of actions and protected many thousands of workers from egregious exploitation,” he said.

“With recently strengthened powers and a dedicated team, the authority is well placed for the significant work ahead, and I wish the organisation continued success.”

Darga