The email at the center of Australia’s audit leaks scandal is now public, and it makes for uncomfortable reading. ABC News has obtained the message a KPMG whistleblower sent in September 2025 to ASIC, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, reporting alleged misconduct at the accounting firm, with senior executives still at KPMG copied in. It details a person who had already tried to blow the whistle internally, and had taken the matters to KPMG International, only to see serious allegations dismissed as a private employment matter.
The underlying claims were aired in March by Labor senator Deborah O’Neill, who told parliament that confidential Lendlease board papers had been tapped to support bids for the Westpac and Dexus audit tenders. This month, partners past and present from the firm were hauled before a federal inquiry examining why client information was allegedly shared and the whistleblower’s first warnings went unheeded.
In the email, the whistleblower wrote that KPMG Australia had “refused to acknowledge my whistleblower status or protections” and that the approach to ASIC came “under the continuing threat of retaliatory legal action from KPMG”. “Despite this, the truth must come out,” the whistleblower wrote, calling the issues matters of public interest that speak directly to the regulator’s mandate. “Delay in addressing them risks allowing systemic misconduct to continue unchecked, directly undermining market integrity and investor confidence.”
The regulator’s record is the sore point. The whistleblower warned that the matters raised were “urgent and warrant immediate investigation” and sought assurances of protection before making a more detailed complaint. Those assurances never came, the complaint was closed days later, and it was only after Senator O’Neill aired the allegations under parliamentary privilege that ASIC announced it would investigate the alleged audit leaks. Asked about the case, ASIC said: “ASIC takes all whistleblower reports and allegations of misconduct seriously.” A second KPMG whistleblower has been blunter, saying the regulator had to be “dragged kicking and screaming to take action”. KPMG, for its part, says it is strengthening its whistleblower policy. “We acknowledge that KPMG Australia failed the whistleblower, and for that we have unreservedly apologised,” a spokeswoman said, adding that the firm now wants a culture in which people feel safe raising concerns.
For all the noise, the salient point is legal rather than personal. Disclosures about partnerships and unincorporated associations currently fall outside “eligible whistleblower” protections, and ASIC chair Sarah Court told a June 19 hearing that sanctions should be “significantly increased”. “We also consider the current whistleblower protections to be deficient,” Ms Court said. “They need to be extended so that those that are seeking to make disclosures in relation to the conduct of partnerships such as KPMG are clearly protected.” Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino is weighing changes, including a possible US-style bounty scheme — a idea Treasury’s consultation paper flags as risky, inviting a flood of low-value or speculative reports — while Greens senator Barbara Pocock backs a dedicated whistleblower authority: “This means ensuring all entities are required to meet the whistleblower provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 and establish a whistleblower authority.”
The backdrop, as documented in a July account of the affair, is bleak. Concerns were raised internally as far back as 2024; three internal investigations cleared the firm and the account was classified as unsubstantiated; Lendlease learned of the allegations only in May 2025. Chief executive Andrew Yates resigned in May 2026 after an Allens investigation surfaced evidence earlier reviews had missed, with the audit boss and chief operating officer also departing, and federal contracts worth more than $270 million placed under scrutiny. New federal work awarded to the Big Four fell to $348 million in 2025, from $637 million a year before. It would seem the system is telling whistleblowers to stay quiet. The law review now underway is the chance to say otherwise.
Sources
- KPMG whistleblower who tried to expose alleged 'systemic misconduct' shows why so few people report – ABC News
- Inside KPMG Australia's ethics meltdown – Global Business Outlook
