The Abbott government called a Royal Commission into trade union governance and corruption in 2014. Commissioner Dyson Heydon handed an Interim Report to Governor General on 15 December 2014 which included an examination of the AWU affair.Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption ; Homepage; checked 18 August 2015 Upon release of the Interim Report, The Age reported that: "Justice Heydon identified key concerns about the use and operation of union election slush funds. They include that they operate largely in secret, have deficient or non-existent record-keeping and that candidates commonly plead ignorance on how money is raised and spent. The report also recommended fraud charges be considered against former Australian Workers Union officials Bruce Wilson and Ralph Blewitt for their use of a secret slush fund in the 1990s. Mr Wilson was the ex-boyfriend of former prime minister Julia Gillard. Justice Heydon said there were no grounds for prosecuting Ms Gillard, but agreed with counsel assisting Jeremy Stoljar's submission, that her conduct as a solicitor had been 'questionable'. Ms Gillard had done legal work setting up the slush fund for Mr Wilson and Mr Blewitt."Royal commission takes aim at CFMEU, recommends charges against senior officials; The Age; 19 December 2014
