Police Raid Queensland CFMEU HQ as Labour Hire Contractor Arrested in Bribery Probe

Labour hire director arrested

Kim Mellech, the 47-year-old director of Top Up Labour Hire, has been arrested and is being questioned by police.

Police are investigating allegations that a labour hire contractor bribed current Queensland union officials.

Detectives say they will prepare a brief of evidence for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the Commonwealth offence of giving, receiving or soliciting a corrupting benefit.

At this stage, the allegations remain under investigation.

Two other men — a 46-year-old from Mount Eliza and a 33-year-old from Pascoe Vale — were also arrested and charged with matters unrelated to the raids.

Police search properties across two states

The operation stretched across Queensland and Victoria, with police attending properties in Logan and on the Gold Coast, as well as Pascoe Vale, Mount Eliza and Oakleigh South in Victoria.

The CFMEU’s Queensland headquarters at Bowen Hills was also searched.

Detectives from Taskforce Hawk were involved in the operation.

Taskforce Hawk Detective Inspector Ross Mitchell said investigators were focused on removing criminality from the construction industry and ensuring people working in the sector could operate in a fair and safe environment.

He said detectives would continue working with other agencies and interstate law-enforcement partners to investigate those involved in this type of alleged offending.

Part of a broader construction investigation

The latest raids come as detectives in Victoria continue investigating allegations involving secret commissions, fraud and drug trafficking at the union.

Police have made multiple arrests over the past month as part of that ongoing investigation.

Queensland also has an inquiry underway into alleged corruption at the union. The Commission of Inquiry is due to resume next month and has been extended until December 2027.

CFMEU says it will cooperate

The CFMEU confirmed it had been made aware of the police investigation. A spokesperson said the union would “cooperate fully”.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli declined to comment directly on the investigation, saying it was a police matter. Speaking more broadly about the CFMEU, he said the more he saw of the union, the more he believed it did not play by the same rules as others.

For now, the investigation remains ongoing, with detectives expected to prepare a brief of evidence for consideration by Commonwealth prosecutors.

Source: ABC News Australia – Jessica Black and Jessica Longbottom, “Labour contractor in custody as police probe allegations Queensland CFMEU officials bribed”, published 9 September 2026.
Read the original ABC News report