Senator calls for contract review as KPMG bidding pause begins
The Australian Public Service Commission has kept a $1.27 million leadership and ethics training contract with KPMG, despite a federal moratorium barring the firm from new government work and a corruption commission referral.
Greens senator Barbara Pocock said KPMG misused confidential client information to secure more work, misled the parliament and mistreated whistleblowers, and called for the training contract to be cancelled.
A tabled letter from Lendlease chief executive Tony Lombardo revealed that KPMG personnel on the developer’s audit team in 2023 retained and used material from Lendlease board papers to inform a tender for Westpac’s audit.
KPMG Australia chief executive Andrew Yates resigned along with audit head Julian McPherson after the firm acknowledged shortcomings in its handling of a whistleblower complaint and its investigations into the allegations. National chairman Martin Sheppard and audit partners Paul Rogers and Eileen Hoggett also later stepped down following the parliamentary scrutiny and the firm’s governance overhaul.
The Department of Finance has barred Commonwealth officials from entering new contracts with KPMG for procurement processes closing between 16 June and 30 September 2026. Dr. Ian Watt, a former secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, has been appointed to conduct an independent review of KPMG’s culture,...
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