KPMG Australia fallout widens as RBA, pension reassess

[SINGAPORE/MELBOURNE] Australia’s central bank and one of the country’s biggest pension funds are scrutinising and distancing themselves from KPMG Australia as whistleblower misconduct allegations trigger a widening crisis for the Big Four accounting firm.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Michele Bullock told senators at a hearing on Thursday (Jun 4) that it will likely not reappoint KPMG to run its whistleblower phone hotline. The central bank had previously outsourced the “Fair Call” hotline to KPMG, but will now be seeking new bids, Bullock said, adding that “I don’t think we will be reappointing them to the whistleblower service”.

The state government of New South Wales (NSW), meanwhile, “is seeking assurances about the management of confidential information and whether any personnel under investigation are currently working on NSW Government contracts”, in light of “serious concerns which have been raised about KPMG’s work practices”, according to a statement.

Rest, a pension fund managing A$105 billion (S$96 billion) for more than two million Australians, told Bloomberg it’s “concerned by the information in the public arena and we are seeking more information about what has transpired”. KPMG is listed as an internal auditor and one of two tax agents in its 2025 annual report.

“All decisions related to our external suppliers are made according to the best financial interests of our members, and in line with our supplier code of conduct,” a Rest spokesperson said.

KPMG declined to comment. KPMG is used in Australia’s A$4.5 trillion pension system for a range of services, and produces annual analysis on the industry.

The episode is the latest in a series of issues in recent years that has triggered greater scrutiny of consulting firms in Australia.

Last year, Deloitte Australia said that it would partly refund the government for a report that included apparent AI-generated errors. PwC, meanwhile, has faced allegations it used confidential government tax policy information to advise clients, leading to an exodus of customers.

The pullbacks for KPMG Australia come after its CEO Andrew Yates and the firm’s national managing partner for audit and assurance, Julian McPherson, on Friday said that they were stepping down to take responsibility for mishandling claims brought by the whistleblower, a former KPMG partner.

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Among the various allegations, highlighted in Parliament by Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill, are claims that KPMG partners on the account of property developer LendLease used confidential Lendlease board documents in bids for other major audit tenders.

KPMG Australia initially rebutted the allegations, but it acknowledged on Friday that its initial investigation was “not conducted with the necessary rigour required”. Allens, an international law firm, is conducting an external review.

“It’s time to rip the bandaid off,” Greens Senator Barbara Pocock said on Thursday. “It’s time the government made these opaque, largely unregulated mega-partnerships accountable under the same corporate law, regulatory, whistleblower and tax regime as other large businesses in Australia.”

Pocock is calling for KPMG Australia to be banned from government tendering, putting millions of US dollars worth of contracts at risk. BLOOMBERG