A building company gave Bill Shorten's Australian Workers Union more than $211,000 shortly after he negotiated a controversial wages deal for Melbourne's EastLink in 2005.
Documents lodged with the Australian Electoral Commission show Thiess John Holland paid the money in donations and "other receipts" in 2006 and 2007.
Fairfax Media reports Mr Shorten, who was AWU national secretary at time, negotiated with the company over the deal, which the Institute of Public Affairs calculated saved the builders more than $100 million.
A Labor source said it's common for companies to make payments for things like occupational health and safety training and trade training.
A spokesman for Mr Shorten directed questions about company donations to the companies and the AWU.
"Specific questions about individual contributions from individual companies to the union should be directed to the individual companies or the union," he told AAP.
Fairfax Media reported that at the time Thiess John Holland regarded the payments as an acknowledgement of how flexible the AWU deal was.
An IPA analysis of the deal found it would save the company $58 million in probable additional costs, $31 million in spurious OHS claims, $12.3 million in bad weather delays, and $9.2 million in work disruptions.
The operator would also earn an extra $184 million because the toll road would be completed and open faster.
AWU returns lodged with the AEC show payments of $134,500, $39,875, $20,917, and $16,500 from Thiess John Holland in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
Payments were also lodged from Huntsman Chemical, Toll Logistics, and Incolink.
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