Incoming CFMMEU construction and general division national secretary Zachary (Zach) Smith will take over from the long-serving Dave Noonan in April, after 15 years with the union and serving as leader and assistant leader of the ACT branch for the past three years.
Newly-elected NTEU national general secretary Damien Cahill says the union will renew its campaign for increased public funding for universities and push for a parliamentary inquiry into the sector's "corporatised " governance.
The NTEU is set for a contested election for its key national full-time positions, against a backdrop of major university job losses in recent years, widespread investigations into wage theft and grassroots agitation over the extent of casual employment.
The CFMMEU's mining and energy division has launched two-pronged legal action in the Federal Court, seeking to overturn the broader union's recent rule changes and to secure an inquiry into the election of former MUA WA branch leader Christy Cain as national secretary.
The UFU's national office has won court backing to "resuscitate" its Queensland branch after a precipitous membership decline and a subsequent mass resignation by officers and delegates in 2019.
The ACTU has signed off on its Federal election campaign strategy, which will feature "blanket visits and union presence in all medium to large workplaces".
The Federal Court has concluded its inquiry into the CFMMEU manufacturing division's recent election that overwhelmingly returned Michael O'Connor as national leader, finding no "irregularities" in six candidates having their nominations disallowed and 83 alleged members being denied the opportunity to vote.
Divisional battle lines have hardened within the CFMMEU after manufacturing division national secretary Michael O'Connor overwhelmingly won re-election in a ballot that closed last week.