Australia’s unions are running short of members, but not of money. This analysis draws together grants identified on the Commonwealth’s GrantConnect register and the states’ own disclosures: annual reports, charity filings, ministerial releases and the published records of state industrial relations programs.

The analysis identifies that from 2022, Labor governments at the federal and state level have awarded at least $215 million in taxpayer-funded grants to peak union councils, individual unions, union training arms and union-controlled entities. Much of it was allocated through programs with no open tender, and for purposes with little connection to the living standards of members. In effect, the grants underwrite the day-to-day running costs of the unions.

Key findings

• The Albanese Government awarded $48.6 million to the ACTU through its Productivity, Education and Training (PET) Fund, a non-competitive, restricted grant explicitly designed to support union and employer peak bodies to promote the government’s IR legislation, running from 2023 to 2028.
• The eight state and territory peak union councils shared close to $40 million in Commonwealth grants across two programs, Advancing Gender Equality and Information for Migrant Workers.
• $56.8 million flowed to unions through two Commonwealth grant programs intended to advance women in the workforce.