"It is no understatement to describe the CFMEU as the most recidivist corporate offender in Australian history," he said.

"While some may want to sanitise this behaviour as an unremarkable workplace contravention, it is far more than that."

However, he said the deterrent aspect of the current penalty regime "is not having the desired effect" and "the CFMEU has not changed its attitude in any meaningful way".

"If I could have imposed a greater penalty for these contraventions, I most certainly would have done so."

He said if the community was not satisfied with the court's actions to ensure compliance "then the next step is a matter for the parliament".

'Vile threat' could be criminal

Mr Hanna entered Hutchinson Builder's apartment site in the Fortitude Valley illegally in 2015 and responded with the middle finger to managers who asked if he had a right of entry permit, telling them "I can do what I like".

When a site manager started recording Mr Hanna on video with his phone, the CFMEU president told him "take that phone away or I'll f---g bury it down your throat".


Mr Hanna then squirted water from a bottle into a site manager's face, shirt and mobile phone.

He later used an employee's swipe card to swipe out workers from the premises, raising concerns over safety as it meant Hutchinson had no record of who was present on its site.

Judge Vasta said Mr Hanna's spraying water at a manger was "horrendous" and could constitute assault, while his "very vile threat' could also be a criminal offence.

He found Mr Hanna's presence at the site "did compromise the safety of the very workers he is supposedly trying to protect".

"It may have been expected that there would be righteous condemnation of any person compromising safety on the work site coming from a union that purportedly exists to ensure safety on worksites. The silence from the CFMEU, however, has been deafening."

He handed down maximum penalty against the union of $306,000 and $10,200 for Mr Hanna after considering the CFMEU's "astounding" history of offences and finding Mr Hanna had acted "in the most abhorrent way".

Mr Hanna is no longer associated with the union following claims of corruption at the Trade Union Royal Commission and the union will not be paying his costs.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said such penalties would be lower under a Shorten-led Labor Government, which has promised to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

"In light of these comments from Justice Vasta today, Bill Shorten needs to explain to Australians why he now intends to give the green light to this union to break the law with impunity."

ABCC acting commissioner Cathy Cato said the imposition of six maximum penalties showed the seriousness of the breaches of a repeat offender.

"The court has sent a powerful message that repeated breaches of workplace laws will not be tolerated."