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Dyson Heydon has postponed his decision on whether he will step down from the royal commission into trade unions for a perception of bias.
The commissioner was expected to announce his decision on Tuesday.
A statement late on Monday afternoon from the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption said that Mr Heydon, a former High Court judge, was still "considering his ruling, which will now not be delivered on that date".
A scheduled hearing involving the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union's NSW branch on Wednesday would also be postponed to a later date as a result.
"The royal commission will make a further statement on the timing of Commissioner Heydon's decision in due course," the commission's spokesman said.
Lawyers for unions that have appeared before the commission argued on Friday that Mr Heydon should disqualify himself because he had created an apprehension of bias in agreeing to speak at a Liberal Party fundraiser.
The ACTU's barrister, Robert Newlinds said on Friday that the "hypothetical observer" would think Mr Heydon harboured a political prejudice against the union officials before him.
Mr Newlinds also said he had not received all relevant documents, including emails, relating to the arrangements for the event, as the commission had promised.
Mr Heydon was billed as a speaker on an invitation to the event, which was named after former High Court Justice and Liberal MP, Sir Garfield Barwick.
He previously told the commission that he was asked to speak at the event last year, before the commission was extended for a year.
But he later "overlooked" the Liberal Party's connection to the event when he received a follow-up email in March this year: "I also overlooked the fact my agreement to speak at that time had been conditional on the work of the commission being completed before that time."
Mr Heydon cancelled his appearance after he realised it was a fundraiser and said he had not read an attached donation form and flyer he received on the event in June, as he had been busy with royal commission hearings.
