KPMG Australia’s whistleblower scandal came close to delaying the Department of Foreign Affairs’ build out of its new Barton Campus in Canberra, as documents show an extension of a $3 million contract with the embattled firm was on the line.
Documents obtained by Capital Brief under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws, revealed the disarray DFAT staff experienced when the department started the process to extend the contract by one year in late May, days before KPMG Australia’s former chief executive Andrew Yates’ resignation.
Yates resigned from the role after admitting the firm failed to address whistleblower’s allegations KPMG misused confidential client information to win contracts.
The Barton Campus is set to be DFAT’s new office to allow its 1,500 strong workforce in Canberra to consolidate into one building by 2027. The contract with KPMG is for project management and the initial contract was set for $1.45 million during the period of 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. The extension pushed the value of the contract to $3 million.
DFAT chose to extend KPMG’s contract as it was the best value for money, had strong project knowledge, would provide continuity and had a resourcing model aligned to the project needs, the documents state.
However, emails detailed the touch and go nature of getting the extension approved in the height of the accounting firm’s...
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