New legislation will force businesses to agree to union demands
Media Release: 29 June 2026
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) says the passing of new workplace legislation will force businesses to agree to union demands for fear of losing contracts and grants.
The Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Building Cooperative Workplaces No 1) Bill 2026 was touted as a Bill to lighten the Fair Work Commission’s caseload amid a flood of AI referrals.
However, buried within the legislation is a change that both allows and encourages the government to discriminate against businesses that don’t have an enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) in procurement and Commonwealth grant selection processes.
ACCI Chief Executive Officer Andrew McKellar says this marks a dark day for businesses that do not want to rely on union-endorsed EBAs just to secure contracts from the Commonwealth.
“This Bill specifically allows, and encourages, the federal government to discriminate against businesses that don’t have union-backed EBAs in procurement and grant decisions,” Mr McKellar said.
“The federal government has successfully ensured that the unions will have business owners over a barrel.
“Non-union businesses will be faced with an awful choice – run the risk of losing contracts and grants, or plead with union bosses for some awful agreement.”
“We have already seen what such arrangements have done in states such as Victoria, where it’s alleged the CFMEU gouged $15 billion in additional payments for procurements and had businesses locked out of their own work sites.
“This will send the cost of Commonwealth projects soaring at a time when the government should be ensuring value for taxpayer money.”
Mr McKellar said, like the changes to capital gains tax, this has been rushed through Parliament before the winter break to escape as much scrutiny as possible.
“This legislation risks sowing the seeds of corruption at the Commonwealth level with the government procurement process rigged in favour of unions,” he said.