ASIC Investigates KPMG Australia Partners over Whistleblower Scandal

Last week, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) launched a formal investigation into three KPMG Australia partners over whistleblower allegations that the firm misused confidential client data to win audit contracts, as reported by Reuters.

The probe began as a preliminary investigation in April and escalated to a formal inquiry following the resignation of KPMG’s CEO and head of audit. The allegations, shared with Parliament in March by Senator Deborah O’Neill, include claims that confidential board papers from real estate company Lendlease were used to support bids for major audit tenders at Westpac and property firm Dexus.

ASIC chair Sarah Court confirmed that two of the three partners under investigation, Paul Rogers and Eileen Hoggett, had been identified by the whistleblower as lead partners on the Lendlease auditing team. Court noted that ASIC does not have the authority to act against the firm itself due to its partnership structure, only against individual auditors.

The fallout is widening beyond ASIC. Australia’s Department of Finance said it reserved the right to remove KPMG from its panel of pre-approved advisory firms. Meanwhile, Dexus confirmed its 2026 accounts would not be signed off by Hoggett, and pension fund REST — which relies on KPMG for internal audit and tax services — is seeking more information from the firm. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock also disclosed that KPMG had run a whistleblower service for the central bank under a contract costing A$10,000 a year. “I don’t think we’ll be reappointing them to the whistleblower service,” she said.

The episode draws inevitable comparisons to the PwC Australia scandal of 2023, in which that firm shared confidential government information with prospective clients, ultimately selling its government advisory business for A$1.

In 2023, Starling published “Renal Failure: A Crisis in Audit Culture?,” a Deeper Dive report into global concerns surrounding audit quality and professional conduct. Therein, we discuss the efforts of regulators, including the FRC, to reform audit quality and governance.