New charges from IBAC probe
Print
Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog has charged dozens of people in a builder bribery investigation.
Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) has charged 28 individuals, including one Victorian Building Authority (VBA) employee, over allegations of bribery related to builder registration.
The charges stem from Operation Perseus, an ongoing investigation into claims that VBA staff accepted financial inducements to approve builder registrations.
The accused include one VBA employee, building registration applicants, and facilitators of these applications.
“These charges are in addition to six people charged as part of Operation Perseus in 2024,” IBAC said.
Among the earlier group charged were two VBA employees, two applicants, and two other individuals allegedly involved in the scheme.
In August 2024, IBAC revealed it had charged two VBA employees after raids uncovered evidence of bribery.
The VBA’s Chief Executive, Anna Cronin, says the authority first reported suspicious activity to IBAC in June 2023 and had cooperated with the investigation.
Those implicated were immediately stood down from their positions.
Cronin, appointed sole commissioner of the VBA in 2023 after the regulator’s board was dissolved, had earlier acknowledged “significant cultural and workplace issues” within the organisation.
The VBA says it is committed to reviewing its systems to ensure integrity following the allegations.
The state government announced plans in October 2024 to replace the VBA with a more robust regulatory body, citing its failures in addressing complaints about builders’ misconduct and incomplete construction projects.
