5 AUGUST 2026 – The United Firefighters Union (UFU) is calling for an immediate investigation into the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) after two extensive inquiries spanning eight years and costing an estimated $8 million of taxpayer monies failed to produce any findings of corrupt conduct against the union or its officials.
IBAC’s Operation Turton and Operation Richmond, initiated in 2018 and 2019 respectively, employed intrusive surveillance methods, including telephone interceptions, raids executed at the UFU’s office and the private residence of UFU Secretary Peter Marshall, and compulsory examinations of UFU officials. Despite these extreme measures, both investigations concluded by finding “no corrupt conduct”.
The UFU contends that these prolonged investigations represent a misuse of public funds and a targeted campaign against the union and its Branch Secretary.
“Eight years and what we understanding to be an estimated $8 million dollars of public money, and not one finding of corrupt conduct,” Mr Marshall said. “This was a pursuit in search of a case that never existed to begin with.”
In Operation Turton, IBAC investigated alleged unauthorised access and disclosure of information within the emergency services sector, prompted by claims that a network administrator had accessed executive email accounts without authorisation. The report, tabled in September 2024, did not find any corrupt conduct by the union or its officials.
Operation Richmond released today investigated the negotiation of the union’s enterprise agreement with the Victorian Government and the legislative reforms leading to the creation of Fire Rescue Victoria. Despite employing extensive investigative and coercive powers over a seven-year period, IBAC did not make any findings of corrupt conduct.
The union highlighted the making of, and later the approval process, of the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board/United Firefighters Union of Australia Operational Staff Agreement 2016 by robust Fair Work Commission processes, including being subject to significant challenges by then-Federal Minister for Industrial Relations, which was ultimately dismissed by the Fair Work Commission Full Bench.
The Agreement’s clauses that have once again become the subject of IBAC commentary despite the Fair Work Commission having, on more than one occasion, certified and upheld in their entirety the very clauses that IBAC seeks to comment on, irrespective of having no legislative basis or expertise on matters of industrial relations and workers’ rights.
The union also highlighted IBAC’s attempt to investigate “improper influence” of a union in supporting fire services reform that benefited the Victorian community and Victorian firefighters. Analysis of the facts, and the various parliamentary inquiries over a decade-long period in the lead up to fire services reform, totally negates IBAC’s assertions of “improper influence” over this matter.
The UFU raised concerns about IBAC’s conduct during these investigations, including the persistent leaking of confidential information including draft reports to the media and the denial of natural justice afforded to persons named in an IBAC report. The Supreme Court of Victoria recorded instances where confidential information was disclosed to journalists while the union was still formulating its response.
Additionally, IBAC argued that individuals facing adverse findings need not be shown the evidence against them a position that was unanimously rejected by seven judges of the High Court.
UFU noted that when it lodged a complaint with IBAC in 2018 regarding the conduct of a serving Minister the Hon Jane Garrett, supported by a sworn statutory declaration, the complaint was closed within seven weeks without any investigative steps. IBAC did not provide any reason for pursuing this legitimate complaint, which was based on sworn Affidavit material by a senior operational firefighter.
Given these circumstances, the UFU is demanding a thorough investigation into IBAC’s practices and the rationale behind the extensive, yet totally unsubstantiated, multi-million-dollar investigation into the union and its officials.
Mr Marshall said: “IBAC’s record needs to be reviewed as to its own conduct into its treatment of its own employees, its defence of its own legislation when persistent leaks occur, and its publication of confidential phone intercepts despite there being no corrupt conduct, the seizing of individuals’ private material via coercive processes inclusive of medical and other personal material relating to individual’s families.”
“This information has been viewed by IBAC personnel and other persons and was not returned for years. Once it was returned, IBAC has kept a copy of this information which has no relevance to any of its functions or activities. This would not pass the pub test amongst everyday Victorians – any Victorian could be subject to IBAC confiscating and keeping private material, including one’s medical and family records.”
Key UFU Links
Statement Here
Webpage, Video & Summary Here
Strength in Unity