The regulator ordered the report to be made public, but because it has not yet been handed down, it cannot ascertain whether the directors have passed fit and proper persons tests, or if Cbus has complied with the licence conditions.

Deloitte is conducting the review and is expected to hand down its report by the end of this year, according to Cbus.

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The superannuation giant has previously said it would pause payments to the CFMEU and await the findings of the review before deciding on its controversial relationship with the union, which the federal government placed into administration after this masthead’s investigation.

Under the equal representation governance model used by industry funds, union and employers get to choose several directors each for the board, and must restore balance within 90 days. The CFMEU retains its representation on the Cbus board even in administration.

CFMEU administrator Mark Irving KC in August declared he wanted a “clean sweep” of union-appointed directors to the board of Cbus, prompting the removal of three officials.

O’Mara, the former ACT secretary of the construction union, resigned after Irving’s comments, but the administrator re-nominated him. Rita Mallia also resigned after she was sacked from her state construction president role, while Dave Noonan was forced out of Cbus after he refused to resign on the grounds there were no allegations of impropriety against him.

Weber is the director of legal and industrial programs in the national office of the union, while Crumlin is the national president of the CFMEU and the national secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia, which is funding a High Court challenge against the construction union being placed into administration.

Crumlin was also the former chair of Maritime Super, which was ranked as the worst default super fund in the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s first annual performance test in 2021. Maritime Super merged with Hostplus last year.

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