SYDNEY – KPMG Australia is set for a public reckoning as lawmakers demand information and changes in an industry beset by a series of scandals around the misuse of confidential client information.

More than 30 people – including current and former senior KPMG personnel, as well as its customers, lawyers and board members – will testify in parliament in Canberra on June 19 for an ethics and professional accountability hearing.

KPMG is alleged to have misused confidential information from property developer Lendlease Group to win contracts with other corporate clients including Westpac Banking and real estate manager Dexus, according to details outlined under parliamentary privilege in March.

KPMG has admitted its treatment of a whistleblower and an investigation into the allegations fell short of the firm’s standards and lacked rigour.

The scrutiny comes in the wake of another fiasco in the sector, after PwC’s Australia division was banned from bidding for new government work and its embattled public consulting business was jettisoned in 2023 for a dollar.

Barbara Pocock, a senator for the Australian Greens party, said: “The PwC scandal and now the KPMG scandal really raise questions about the systemic regulation of these very large partnerships.

“Their leadership and their culture have been exposed as open to unethical practices and really poor treatment of whistleblowers.”

Among those giving testimony on June 19 will be former KPMG chief executive Andrew Yates, as well...

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