By Dominic Giannini, Kat Wong and Andrew Brown in Canberra

An embattled CFMEU construction division has been suspended by Australia’s peak union body and had its links to various state Labor parties put on ice over allegations of criminal links and corrupt conduct.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions suspended the construction and general divisions of the CFMEU until it could demonstrate it was well-functioning and free from criminal elements.

“We absolutely reiterate our zero-tolerance for corruption, criminal activities or violence, all of it,” ACTU secretary Sally McManus said on Wednesday.

“We will stand against it, we’ll root it out, we will continue to do what is necessary to rid our movement of any elements like that.”

Ms McManus spoke hours after the federal government said it would support the Fair Work Commission’s moves to appoint an independent administrator to the union.

Any barriers to the process would be cleared with government legislation, Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said.

“The number one job of any union is to look after its members … the reported behaviour for the construction division of the CFMEU is the exact opposite of that obligation,” Mr Burke told reporters in Canberra.

A former Labor government took similar action in 2012 when the Health Services Union was embroiled in controversy over fraud and theft charges.

Fair Work Commission general manager Murray Furlong said his organisation was carefully considering the allegations.

Information had been shared with other regulatory and law enforcement bodies about the allegations, Mr Furlong said.

Prime Minister Albanese has not ruled out further action, saying “nothing will be taken off the table”.

Queensland Labor Premier Steven Miles branded the allegations “extremely serious” and welcomed the state branch being included in the application for administration.

“That will allow the concerns and complaints and grievances that have been aired here in Queensland to be properly considered,” he said.

Master Builders Australia welcomed the move as an important first step to stamp out alleged corruption and crime, which it argued stifled productivity and increased the cost of construction.

But the CFMEU’s Queensland and NT branch secretary Michael Ravbar hit back at the government’s announcement, claiming it would rob workers of effective representation.

“Albanese has panicked and soiled himself over some unproven allegations in the media,” he said.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says he wants the government to go further and deregister the union, saying the administration process was the “weakest possible response”.

The Business Council called for an independent judicial inquiry that could compel witnesses and documents.

The process to appoint an administrator “doesn’t provide the transparency and public accountability required to properly stamp out the allegations of systemic corruption, criminal conduct and unlawful industrial behaviour”, it said.

But deregistration wouldn’t directly deal with alleged criminal behaviour, RMIT’s business and law school professor Anthony Forsyth said.

The CFMEU’s national office has placed its Victorian and South Australian branches into administration and launched its own investigation.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has asked the state’s Labor general secretary to suspend its affiliation with the CFMEU following corruption claims.

In Tasmania, the state government is open to possibly de-registering the union as it investigates potential actions it can take against the union’s branch.

Mr Burke has requested the Fair Work Ombudsman review enterprise agreements made by the Victorian branch of the CFMEU’s construction division.

He stressed the government was only seeking information on coercive behaviour and had no intention of taking action that would risk workers’ employment standards under the agreements.

The Australian Federal Police has been called in to investigate alongside state counterparts.