The Department of Finance has extended its temporary pause on new KPMG Commonwealth contracts to 28 February 2027.
Dr Ian Watt’s independent review made eight recommendations, including recommending that Finance should strengthen the procurement framework to restrict or prohibit suppliers from bidding for Commonwealth Government contracts where appropriate. The Greens currently have a Private Senator’s Bill to ban unethical contractors.
Meanwhile, ASIC’s responses to questions on notice (#74) this week revealed a shockingly high number – 153 – reports of misconduct in the Big 4 firms, including 48 from potential whistleblowers. Among them were 22 potential whistleblower complaints relating to KPMG and 16 relating to Deloitte.
The Greens say as long as Labor keeps tinkering while delaying real and systemic action, the government will continue to be rorted and ripped off by the Big 4 firms.
As stated by Greens finance and public service spokesperson Senator Barbara Pocock:
“A small extension of the freeze on KPMG contracts is not dealing with the issue – it’s tinkering. KPMG has broken the community’s confidence through its misuse of confidential information and its mistreatment of whistleblowers.
“At a time when some of Australia’s biggest corporate players like Lendlease, Macquarie Group and ANZ have sacked KPMG as auditors, why would the government consider letting them back in the fold? It should instead be setting the standard on probity amongst its contractors.
“If any ordinary worker or company was caught using confidential information for gain, cheating on an exam or mistreating a whistleblower – you’d be out on your ear, dismissed in a flash.
“This review found that KPMG mishandled the whistleblower matter, and that there were failures of leadership, culture, governance and accountability – and yet the government refuses to ban them.
“The Government has learned nothing from the PwC scandal. It’s one rule for the big end of town who rub shoulders with the Prime Minister and Ministers and write annual cheques to the government, and another for the average worker or Australian tax payers.
“No wonder ordinary Australians are cynical about politics and pulling their vote away from the major parties. This is billionaire political influence over the government.
“When will Labor show some backbone and call these marauding cowboys to account? When will Labor acknowledge the mountains of evidence and finally ban KPMG?
“We have learned this week that there have been 153 reports of misconduct to ASIC in the past three years in the Big 4 firms, among them 48 potential whistleblowers who have come forward. The sheer volume is alarming and confirms there are serious problems within the Big 4 in relation to misconduct, some of which have already surfaced. This suggests there’s a lot more going on and this must be investigated.
