A group of Kathy Jackson acolytes duelling for control of the Health Services Union’s No.3 branch could face court-imposed sanctions after a preliminary campaign meeting last week was referred to the union’s administrator.

Jackson rival Craig McGregor — who has coralled a group of “cleanskins” to smackdown the last vestiges of Jackson inside her former Victorian health professionals branch — has alleged that a meeting last week of ex-branch committee members was attended by paid organisers on union time — a prima facie breach of a Federal Court order prohibiting the use of union resources in campaigning.

The union’s deputy manager of industrial services, Fleur Behrens (who did not return calls), is believed to have been anointed as Jackson’s proxy at the meeting at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in East Melbourne. But according to Justice Geoffrey Flick, campaigning on union time is outlawed.

“I will be getting in touch with [administrator] Michael Moore around this issue — like I say, it is a direct breach of the court order,” McGregor, a radiographer, told Crikey.

“The process is undemocratic; this mob have such a head start: they have member lists, access to significant funds, extensive professional networks, etc, and now they are campaigning on union time, that is, being paid by members to feather their own nests.”

Last month, Justice Flick appointed Moore to de-merge the three constituent branches of HSUEast, re-allocate assets and debts and hold fresh elections within a tight 120-day timeline.

At the meeting, the former branch committee members seemed to be endorsing a Behrens-led ticket to take on McGregor’s “Clean Sweep” ticket in a fight for control of the No.3 branch, which has seen its membership shrink from 5500 to 3500 during the bitter factional fight that at one point threatened to bring down the Gillard government.

The branch is not used to competitive elections for the officer bearer positions. At the Peter Mac meeting, Jackson apparently declared she would not be running, despite ruling the fiefdom for years as state secretary. She is also said to have apologised for some employment choices under her previous reign — some attendees interpreted the admission as an indication a dethroned Jackson may be about to relocate from Melbourne to Sydney with her partner Michael Lawler, a Fair Work Australia vice-president.

Meanwhile, Moore is having extreme trouble finding anything inside HSUEast’s hollow logs — outstanding salary entitlements of more than $2 million are unable to be paid out because the broader union is said to be insolvent.