Originally published by Alex White of Herald Sun
04.04.2026
Construction industry insiders say criminal figures are eyeing the nation’s $35bn renewable energy pipeline as their next “cash cow”, as the Big Build slows down.
The sector fears that the remote sites where work will occur will have massive budgets and be a beacon to the underworld, which infiltrated companies subcontracted to infrastructure jobs in the past decade.
“It’s out in the middle of nowhere and a lot of times it’s going to be like the Wild West,” one construction consultant said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity multiple industry insiders confided that planning for mega projects in the regions was well underway for construction firms, but there are “real concerns” that companies linked with underworld figures will be among those eyeing off the renewables sector as the next “cash cow”.
It comes as major city projects in the pipeline is slowing.
While ageing coal plants coupled with Victorian Government targets to reach net zero emissions by 2045 will see the mass proliferation of solar, wind, battery and transmission projects like the Victoria to NSW Interconnector West and the Western Renewables Link.
Conservative estimates have forecast $35bn in investment by 2035, with billions to be added on to power bills to pay for the infrastructure.
The Herald Sun was told that underworld syndicates were known to be looking for the next income after rorts on the state government’s Big Build sites in Melbourne were exposed.
Infrastructure Victoria has already identified there will be massive workforce shortages and insiders say there will be an “uptick in criminals and corrupt companies” trying to get into projects.
One Construction consultant told the Herald sun there also would be “an increase in criminal activity, not necessarily from the workers and the companies, but the criminal elements that follow construction.”
Victorian Farmers federation president Brett Hosking said it was a concern for regional communities in Victoria.
“The way the renewable stuff is being fast tracked across the state, it does leave the door open and leaves rural Victorians exposed,” he said.
“We don’t have the policing and the kind of supervision in these rural areas to keep up with that hive of activity. It’s also not just wind turbines and transmission lines, there’s construction on housing so the government really needs to be aware of the responsibility they have for the roll out.”
The sector was likened to the waste industry, which is known to have mafia elements in both Europe and Australia.
“Renewables is simply the new business model” for criminal gangs, they said.
In Italy, the mafia have been found to have been heavily involved in the wind turbine industry for more than two decades and international agencies have warned of the risks.
Last year there were revelations that criminal-linked companies, some with ties to bikie gangs and the CFMEU, had infiltrated the $4bn Golden Plains Wind Farm in Victoria, which was partly funded on Federal Government grants through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
A Labour-hire firm identified as being involved in the project is currently being targeted by the state’s Labour Hire Authority to have its licence cancelled.
When asked about renewable energy projects and the risk of criminal infiltration, a Victorian Government spokesperson said laws had been strengthened since the CFMEU allegations to reduce the risk.
“Criminal activity on worksites undermines every worker and offends every Victorian, and anyone engaged in it must face the full force of the law,” they said.
“Our plan is working: Victoria Police Taskforce Hawk has laid 70 criminal charges, the Labour Hire Authority has cancelled 126 construction company licences – culture on worksites is improving.”
The government also acted to strengthen Victoria’s unlawful association scheme with the passage of the Criminal Organisations Control Amendment Act, which will ban members of specified organised crime groups from entering Victorian Government worksites.
However, these laws have not yet been able to be used.