General Manager statement: Mark Irving KC resignation
The Fair Work Commission is Australia's workplace tribunal. We create awards, approve enterprise agreements and help resolve issues at work.
www.fwc.gov.auHere’s the latest publicly reported update on Mark Irving, the CFMEU administrator, as of May 2026:
- Mark Irving KC resigned from his role as CFMEU administrator in late April 2026, with the administration transitioning into a rebuilding phase and a new leadership structure being put in place. News reports indicate the departure was described as moving the union into a phase focused on culture and personnel changes, rather than ongoing structural overhaul [news coverage from late April 2026]. These reports note that Michael Crosby was appointed to take over day-to-day administration while Irving remains involved as senior counsel [ABC News; SSBCrack News]. The formal communications to members and the Fair Work Commission framed the shift as part of an ongoing rebuild requiring a different skill set and leadership approach [ABC News; SSBCrack News].
Context and what this means:
- The administration began in August 2024 amid investigations into corruption and violence within the CFMEU, with Irving overseeing investigations and personnel changes during that period [ABC News; SSBCrack News].
- The transition to a rebuilding phase signals a strategic shift from rapid restructuring to stabilizing the union’s culture and governance, with an emphasis on experienced union leadership to guide the next phase [ABC News; Fair Work Commission statements]. This marks a change in the leadership dynamic ahead of ongoing industry inquiries and reforms within the union’s jurisdiction [ABC News; The Australian podcasts overview].
If you’d like, I can pull direct quotes from the cited sources or provide a short timeline of key events during Irving’s tenure and the subsequent leadership transition. I can also look for regional or industry reactions (e.g., construction industry bodies and state regulators) to the changes. Would you like me to do that?
Note: A number of sources reported similar details around late April 2026, including official notices to the Fair Work Commission and CFMEU members about the leadership transition [ABC News; SSBCrack News].