KPMG Australia Faces New Whistleblower Allegations Over Client Data Use

A Senate hearing this month examined allegations that senior KPMG Australia partners misused confidential information from clients including Lendlease and Optus to secure audit work from rival firms. The claims were first raised in March by Labor senator Deborah O'Neill.

They prompted the departure of the firm's entire Australian senior leadership team and led several major clients to bar implicated partners from their audits.

He later told a state parliamentary inquiry that he faced bullying and was forced out after refusing to alter his conclusions. Acting chief executive Stan Stavros, who oversaw Lyon at the time, told the recent Senate hearing that his support for Lyon had been insufficient. Lyon said he sought stronger intervention against reprisals from colleagues.

The hearing also reviewed how KPMG's partnership model limits regulatory oversight. Unlike corporations, the firm is not fully subject to the Corporations Act's whistleblower rules, and the corporate regulator ASIC has restricted authority over its members.

ASIC chair Sarah Court told the committee that auditor integrity underpins market confidence. "It goes to the heart of integrity in our financial system," she said. Lendlease chief executive Tony Lombardo described the alleged conduct as a fundamental breach of trust.

The firm and other large clients have directed that certain partners not work on their accounts. KPMG declined to comment on Lyon's statements about Stavros beyond the acting chief executive's testimony. Investigations by ASIC and other bodies are continuing.