The five key unions targeted by Tony Abbott's royal commission into union corruption have been served with official requests for information ahead of the commission's preliminary hearing next week.
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Unions including the scandal-prone Health Services Union have been asked for detail about the financing of election campaigns by slush funds linked to other unions including the Transport Workers Union and the Australian Workers Union.
Labour movement insiders have confirmed that the Australian Workers Union also faces scrutiny over the Victorian slush fund Industry2020, first revealed by Fairfax Media in 2012, and over financial dealings with companies including major building firms.
Fairfax Media understands that the early 1990s slush fund that dogged Julia Gillard as prime minister does not feature among the matters raised in the commission's request to the AWU.
The 1990s slush fund is the subject of a current investigation by the Victorian Police.
The unions that have received requests for information also include the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, the Transport Workers Union, and the Communications, Electrical and Plumbers Union.
Information sought by the commission must be provided by the morning of the first hearing on 9 April.
