Australia’s corporate regulator has revealed that the big four accounting firms KPMG, PwC, EY and Deloitte have reported 551 whistleblower complaints relating to alleged audit misconduct since mid‑2023, as scrutiny intensifies following explosive revelations about the misuse of confidential client documents.
The disclosure came during a federal parliamentary hearing in Sydney, where the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) confirmed it is investigating whistleblower complaints lodged with the firms from 1 July 2023 onwards.
ASIC’s executive director of enforcement and compliance, Chris Savundra, told the hearing that 551 complaints had been identified. ASIC chair Sarah Court clarified that the figure includes complaints involving registered company auditors, including allegations of misuse or sharing of confidential information the core issue in the Lendlease‑Westpac‑Dexus scandal.
Court said ASIC had used its compulsory information‑gathering powers to obtain the material and is now assessing each complaint to determine whether further investigation or enforcement action is required.
She cautioned that the headline number does not necessarily indicate widespread serious misconduct:
“I don’t want to suggest that there’s, you know, 550 serious whistleblower issues… We don’t know, and there’s a lot of work for us to be looking through those complaints.”
Greens Senator Barbara Pocock pressed ASIC on whether the complaints were evenly distributed across the four firms roughly 125 each but ASIC did not provide a breakdown.
The investigation follows whistleblower claims that confidential Lendlease board papers were improperly used by KPMG to support bids for major audit tenders with Westpac and Dexus, prompting a broader probe into audit integrity across the sector.
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