A once-powerful figure in Australia’s construction union movement has landed back in police custody, marking the third time in 12 months he has faced criminal charges linked to alleged threats against the administrators of his former organization. John Setka, 61, who stepped down as national secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) just six months ago, was arrested early Friday at his residential address in Melbourne’s inner-western suburb of Footscray, Victoria Police confirmed in an official statement.
Law enforcement alleges Setka sent harassing and insulting messages via an online communication channel this Monday. Following his arrest, he has been formally charged with four criminal offences: two counts of improper use of a telecommunications device — one for menacing conduct and one for offensive conduct — plus two additional charges of committing an indictable offence while released on bail. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on this latest round of charges at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court later Friday afternoon.
Setka’s departure from his decades-long leadership role at the CFMEU in July 2024 came amid mounting pressure, when he announced his resignation blaming “ongoing false allegations” that organized crime groups had infiltrated the union under his watch. This latest arrest is not an isolated incident: Taskforce Hawk detectives, the specialized police unit investigating the allegations, first took Setka into custody in November 2023, when he was hit with seven counts of using telecommunications to menace, harass and offend. He faced a second set of charges including improper use of a carriage service for harassment in February 2025. Setka has repeatedly maintained his innocence and has publicly stated he will fight all charges in court. In a prior claim earlier this year, Setka himself alleged he had been the target of death threats related to the ongoing investigations.