February 14, 2014
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption (RCTUGC) to "shine a spotlight into the dark corners".
"It will inquire into the activities relating to 'slush funds' and other similar funds and entities established by, or related to, the affairs of these organisations," a joint statement announcing the commission said.
Previously, Mr Abbott said former Health Services Union (HSU) boss Kathy Jackson was "heroic" for revealing another former HSU boss and Labor MP, Craig Thompson, had misused HSU funds.
May 14, 2014
September 10, 2014
Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard appeared before the commission relating to a slush fund former partner Bruce Wilson established, for which Gillard gave him legal advice.
December 15, 2014
The commission's interim report found former Prime Minister Julia Gillard did not commit any crimes.
"Findings are made that Julia Gillard did not commit any crime and was not aware of any criminality on the part of these union officials."
The same report recommended Gillard’s former partner Bruce Wilson and Ralph Blewitt, former AWU officials, be referred for prosecution.
May 19, 2015
The Royal Commission released a Discussion Paper to explore possible law reform proposals.
Th report raised questions about whether union officials should be subject to regulation.
The report raised the prospect that laws regarding corrupting benefits may be inadequate and unlawful payments continue to be made, despite the laws.
July 8-9, 2015
Bill Shorten later called the commission a waste of time and declared he would not return.
The commission has not received submissions recommending his prosecution.
August 21, 2015
The argument was that Dyson Heydon must have known an event he agreed to speak at was a Liberal Party function, and that would be a conflict of interest.
August 31, 2015
Dyson Heydon responds to accusations of bias, saying he commonly does not read emails.
"I read emails only after they have been printed out for me," Heydon said.
He asserted the event was primarily a legal industry function.
December 31, 2015
The final report is released close to two years after it was announced, with a range of suggestions, including 22 pages of people referred for prosecution.
The report recommends a single national approach to regulating unions, with power similar to Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
"Commonwealth and State governments give consideration to adopting a national approach to the registration, deregistration and regulation of employee and employer organisations, with a single regulator overseeing all such organisations throughout Australia," the report says.
Former Health Services Union boss Kathy Jackson and Victorian Labor MP Cesar Melham are two who have been referred for potential prosecution.
