Lend Lease Project Management & Construction (Australia) Pty Ltd v Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (No 5)
Citation: [2012] FCA 1144
At a glance
- Penalty
- $550,000
What happened
Lend Lease Project Management & Construction was the principal contractor on two major construction projects in Queensland: the Brisbane Supreme Court and District Court building (Law Courts Project) and the Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH Project). The CFMEU, CFMEU (Queensland), and CEPU organized and engaged in unlawful industrial action on both project sites in 2011, causing significant disruption, delays, and financial loss to the projects.
What was decided
The parties agreed to facts regarding the contraventions and the appropriate penalties. The court imposed a total penalty of AUD $550,000 on the unions (CFMEU, CFMEU (Qld), and CEPU) jointly and severally for contraventions of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005. Individual penalties ranging from AUD $2,150 to AUD $7,750 were imposed on named individual union officials. The penalty was payable to Lend Lease as compensation for losses suffered.
What it means for employers
Construction companies can seek recovery of losses caused by unlawful industrial action through Federal Court proceedings. Unions that organize unlawful action face substantial penalties, and individual officials may face personal liability.
What it means for employees
Construction workers should be aware that unlawful industrial action can result in significant penalties being imposed on their union, which may affect union resources and services.
Want this applied to your situation?
Reading the decision is free. FairWork Mate goes further — it reads the full case library and applies precedents like this one to your specific facts, citing the cases as it reasons. General information, not a guaranteed outcome or legal advice.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2012/2012fca1144Want more cases like this?
FairWork Mate tracks Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions across Australia. The AI advisor answers plain-English questions grounded on the full corpus — awards cited, industry, penalty amounts and affected employee counts — with a citation to the underlying decision on every answer.
Individual case summaries on this site are free. Full-corpus advisor access is a paid product — Business Solo from $99/mo, 50% off your first 3 months for the first 100 signups.
Get notified on new Fair Work cases
Free email alerts when we publish new underpayment decisions, penalty orders, and workplace law updates.
Free forever. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
This summary was drafted from the published decision and reviewed before publishing. It is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified lawyer. About these summaries & corrections →