SYDNEY — Australia’s Department of Finance announced Monday that KPMG Australia has agreed to halt all bids for new federal government work for a period of roughly three months, as investigators look into serious allegations against the accounting giant.
A spokesperson for the department confirmed that KPMG will not pursue any new government contracts between June 16 and September 30, while authorities examine the firm’s governance practices, corporate culture, ethics, and overall integrity.
The agreement represents the latest consequence stemming from a widening scandal surrounding the firm.
Both state and federal agencies have said they are taking a closer look at their existing contracts with KPMG, and several private sector clients have already ended their relationships with the company.
One of those clients, Lendlease, confirmed Monday that it would no longer use KPMG as its auditor. According to whistleblower allegations that became public in March, confidential board documents from the real estate company were used to support KPMG’s bids for major audit contracts with a large bank called Westpac and property company Dexus.
KPMG has acknowledged that it mishandled an internal review of those claims, a misstep serious enough to prompt the resignation of both its chief executive and its audit leader.
The controversy has put a fresh spotlight on Australia’s professional services industry, which was already shaken by a 2023 revelation that rival firm PwC had shared confidential government information with potential clients.
PwC faced a similar restriction, refraining from bidding on new government contracts between April 2024 and July 2025 in the aftermath of its own scandal. The firm also sold off its government advisory division — which had represented about one-fifth of its total revenue — for just one Australian dollar in August 2024. That business, rebranded as Scyne Advisory, was subsequently permitted to compete for new government contracts.
