Australia news live: KPMG apologises to whistleblower as firm fronts inquiry over ethical failures

KPMG has issued an apology to the individual who blew the whistle on its audit leaks scandal, as the firm prepares to face an inquiry into its ethical failures. The apology comes as a parliamentary committee investigating the matter pressures the Australian government to reform laws that could have protected the whistleblower.

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The laws had issues that were “long standing, well known, and have been well-ventilated over many years”, demonstrated most recently by the KPMG whistleblower’s difficulties

The Labor-led parliamentary committee, which is examining KPMG's audit leaks, has formally requested Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to urgently address deficiencies in whistleblower protections. In a letter acknowledging these concerns, Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman stated that the Treasury is currently reviewing tax and corporate whistleblower laws. The committee has also submitted its own findings to this review, asserting that Australian law is "largely ineffective in deterring misconduct" and fails to adequately protect whistleblowers.

According to the committee's submission, the issues with current whistleblower laws are "long standing, well known, and have been well-ventilated over many years." The difficulties faced by the KPMG whistleblower most recently exemplify these systemic problems. The committee noted that it has made numerous recommendations over the past decade, which have consistently received bipartisan support, emphasizing the ongoing need for the government to implement these suggestions.

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Ebeid told the whistleblower that KPMG still believed not think his email was protected by Australia’s complex whistleblower laws. Ebeid said the firm had still treated the issue as if it were being raised as an official whistleblower issue and would not challenge the matter if a legal case was brought against it.

In a letter published by the inquiry committee, Mike Ebeid, KPMG's new chair, offered a series of apologies. Ebeid informed the whistleblower that while KPMG still believes his email was not covered by Australia's complex whistleblower laws, the firm treated the issue as if it were an official whistleblower concern and would not contest any legal action. Ebeid also admitted that the firm did not instruct its lawyers to investigate "every aspect" of the whistleblower's allegations, meaning some ethical issues currently under examination were not fully explored. He further acknowledged that KPMG had incorrectly claimed in April 2026 that allegations of internal leaks were "not substantiated," despite investigations by December 2025 finding that confidential information was being shared.

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He said KPMG had in April 2026 wrongly claimed it had “not substantiated” allegations of internal leaks because investigations by December 2025 had found confidential information was being shared.