Cormann still takes a dim view of Shorten

The royal commission into trade union corruption may have effectively cleared Bill Shorten of wrongdoing, but senior Liberal minister Mathias Cormann still takes a dim view of the former union leader.

The finance minister said that Mr Shorten had made admissions as a union leader.

"He admitted that he received an undeclared personal benefit from somebody who he was negotiating with on behalf of his members," Senator Cormann told the Ten Network on Sunday.

The royal commission has heard evidence that Mr Shorten was involved in deals that delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to the Australian Workers Union.

But late on Friday night, the commission said that of all the submissions by the inquiry's lawyers, there was "no submission that Mr Bill Shorten may have engaged in any criminal or unlawful conduct".