Brief
Victorian businessman charged over alleged fake Big Build qualifications
Taskforce Hawk alleges Calvert paid a syndicate to supply forged traffic‑management and other construction qualifications across major infrastructure sites.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Victoria Police’s Taskforce Hawk charged former construction manager Jake Calvert on October 13 with 232 counts of making false documents, alleging he supplied hundreds of fake qualification certificates to workers on the state’s Big Build projects.
What happened
Detectives confronted Calvert on a Tuesday morning after he returned from Queensland. The charge sheet alleges he paid a syndicate led by self‑styled conman Jack Younes to provide forged traffic‑management and other building‑industry certificates to labourers on key Big Build and commercial sites. The alleged operation involved the distribution of hundreds of counterfeit documents, potentially compromising workplace safety.
What the reports add
The SMH article notes that the scandal surfaced a week after The Age reported Younes had been supplying fake certificates for at least three years, despite warnings to the Australian Skills Quality Authority in 2023 and to WorkSafe Victoria in July 2025. Younes, who admitted forging certificates when confronted by The Age, remains at large and was reportedly still active as recently as last month.
What was said
The piece quotes the police taskforce’s statement that the charges highlight a “far less scrutinised but still systemic alleged corruption and safety issue on the Big Build.” It also references the state opposition’s pledge to broaden the terms of reference of the Carroll‑government‑commissioned royal commission into the building industry if it wins the next election, to examine how the fake‑qualification scheme evaded detection by WorkSafe and other regulators.
How it came about
Calvert, previously an operations manager for labour‑hire firm Top Up and now running Archer Hire, sits at the intersection of two separate construction‑industry scandals: the alleged infiltration of gangland figures into the Big Build and the Younes fake‑certificate network. Earlier investigations focused on organised‑crime links, but this charge shifts attention to credential fraud that may have endangered workers and the public.
Key facts
- Jake Calvert was charged with 232 counts of making false documents. (smh.com.au)
- The alleged fraud involved hundreds of fake building qualification certificates supplied to Big Build sites. (smh.com.au)
- Jack Younes, identified as the syndicate leader, admitted forging certificates but has not been arrested. (smh.com.au)
- State opposition pledged to expand the royal commission’s terms of reference to investigate the scandal. (smh.com.au)
Sources
- [1] smh.com.au — originally reported as “Charges laid over hundreds of ‘fake’ Big Build qualifications”
