| Outcome | Establishment of the National Crime Authority |
|---|---|
| Inquiries | Royal Commission on the Activities of the Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union |
| Commissioner | Frank Costigan, QC |
| Inquiry period | 1980–1984 |
| Constituting instrument | Royal Commissions Act 1902 (Cth) |
| Links to Final Reports at aph.gov.au: Volume 1; Volume 2; Volume 3; Volume 4; Volume 5; Appendicies | |
The Costigan Commission (officially titled the Royal Commission on the Activities of the Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union) was an Australian royal commission held in the 1980s.
Headed by Frank Costigan QC, the Commission was established by the Australian government on 10 September 1980, jointly with the Victorian Government,[1] to investigate criminal activities, including violence, associated with the Painters and Dockers Union after a series of investigative newspaper articles that detailed a high level of criminality. The union was represented by prominent Melbourne criminal lawyer Frank Galbally.[2] The Commission was seen by many[who?] as politically motivated, in keeping with a long-running anti-union agenda pursued by the governing party of the day.[3]
The Painters and Dockers Union was notorious for its criminality and the Costigan Commission investigated numerous crimes, including a string of murders, assaults, tax-fraud networks, drug-trafficking syndicates and intimidation Costigan found the union since 1971 had "a positive policy of recruiting hardened criminals", who were essentially outsourced "to any dishonest person requiring criminals to carry out his project". The Commission noted 15 murders in which Painters and Dockers members were either involved, or in which the murder was related to union activities.
As the Commission investigated further it found money laundering occurring on an industrial scale, extensive fraud on the social security and pension systems, and the use of the so-called "bottom of the harbour" tax evasion schemes involving the asset-stripping of companies to avoid tax liabilities and, although facilitated by criminals among the Painters and Dockers Union, the practice benefited wealthy individuals.[4]