Counsel Assisting to the Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU appointed
Media release, Thursday, 4 September 2025
Three Counsel Assisting have been appointed to the Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU.
Liam Kelly KC, Kate Juhasz and Polina Kinchina have been engaged to assist the Commission in examining matters within its broad terms of reference, including:
- Evidence of misconduct making workplaces unsafe or uncomfortable for women.
- The systemic nature of misconduct involving current and former CFMEU leadership.
- Links between the CFMEU and organised crime or other criminal elements.
- Irregularities in financial dealings by the CFMEU, including cash transfers and contracts.
- The broader impact of misconduct on Queensland’s construction industry, housing, transport infrastructure, and productivity.
Liam Kelly KC appears predominantly in complex commercial disputes in courts in Australia and in international arbitrations. He has appeared in and worked in arbitrations in Brisbane, Perth, Singapore, Dubai, London and Houston. Mr Kelly holds permanent chambers in Australia and is an associate member of Gerard Brennan Chambers in Brisbane from which he worked most of his career, a member of New Chambers in Sydney, and a member of Maxwell 42 in Singapore. He has been repeatedly listed in Best Lawyers top lawyers in litigation and in ‘Bet the Company in Litigation’.
Kate Juhasz practised as a solicitor in criminal law and served as a senior lawyer at the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry before being called to the Bar in 2012. She was appointed to the Administrative Appeal Tribunal in 2016 and sat as a sessional member for seven years in conjunction with varied work at the Bar including disciplinary, regulatory, and criminal work. Ms Juhasz maintains an extensive criminal practice and is an experienced trial advocate. She is an active member of the Bar Association of Queensland’s Criminal Law Committee.
Polina Kinchina has a broad practice including commercial, regulatory, and criminal matters. She has been briefed by prosecutorial and regulatory bodies, including the CDPP, AFP, and ASIC, in complex and high-profile matters. Her practice includes matters involving foreign bribery, criminal enterprises, terrorism offences, breaches of director’s duties, insolvent trading, taxation, and workplace health and safety offences. She has experience working with technical expert evidence, including forensic accounting evidence relating to large corporate structures, and information technology evidence such as encrypted communications. She practised as a solicitor in civil litigation before being called to the Bar in 2015.
Commissioner Stuart Wood AM KC welcomed the appointments: “I am pleased to be supported by such experienced counsel. The Counsel Assisting will play a key role in helping the Commission examine the matters before it, ensuring the Inquiry is conducted with the thoroughness and rigour Queenslanders deserve.”
Media enquiries: media@cfmeuinquiry.qld.gov.au