Construction union boss Dave Noonan is set to retire after 15 years in the role.
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The CFMEU's national construction secretary will be replaced by Zachary Smith, the union's ACT division secretary.
Mr Noonan was a construction worker before becoming an organiser and industrial advocate with the Building Workers' Industrial Union in the late 1980s and its successor the CFMEU Victorian branch.
He was re-elected as national secretary for another four-year term in November last year, with the intention of starting succession planning.
Mr Noonan has been a prominent advocate for action on workplace fatalities and injuries, wage theft and the exploitation of visa workers.
As well, he has been a thorn in the side of successive coalition governments, especially over the Australian Building and Construction Commission which the Albanese Labor government will abolish.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously described Mr Noonan as a "man of integrity".
Australian Associated Press
