Bullock says RBA will re-tender KPMG whistleblower hotline contract amid scandals

The Reserve Bank is distancing itself from KPMG, with Governor Michele Bullock confirming the bank will re-tender its whistleblower hotline service contract.

Fronting the Senate Economics Committee on Thursday, Ms Bullock admitted the central bank used KPMG's audit and whistleblower hotline services.

When asked about the "actual reality of the relationship" between the RBA and KPMG, the governor explained: "We don't have a direct relationship with them [KPMG] … they are engaged by ANAO [Australian National Audit Office] to do the audit of the financial statements."

She added: "In terms of the audit, that is a matter for the ANAO, and you'd better speak to the auditor-general about that."

KPMG, one of the Big Four consulting firms, has recently been caught up in a swirl of scandals, including allegations that its audit partners accessed confidential client documents to win contracts and reports of the mistreatment of a whistleblower.

In response, Ms Bullock told the committee that the RBA would not reappoint KPMG to the whistleblower service.

"We are re-tendering for that," she said.

The RBA also has had a contract with KPMG for foreign employee recruitment services.

'Enough is enough'

The Australian Greens party has called on the federal government to ban KPMG from all government contracting work.

The government holds dozens of active audit contracts with KPMG worth $27.4 million across various departments, including CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology, according to the Greens.

Greens Senator Barbara Pocock said it was clear that KPMG's rot spanned far and wide in government.

"The government must stop allowing the Big Four to self-regulate," Ms Pocock said in a statement.

"Labor needs to put an end to their special treatment — on tax, public reporting, professional liability and whistleblower protections — and regulate the Big Four like other large Australian firms."

Last year, the Greens introduced a bill to forbid "dodgy contractors" from getting government work, including debarring any potential supplier who has engaged in unethical conduct from Commonwealth work for up to five years.

This was sparked by the 2023 PwC tax leak scandal, which involved a senior partner using secret information about government plans to tax multinational companies, working out a way to avoid those tax changes, and then selling the plan to those companies, earning millions of dollars in fees.

What's happened inside KPMG so far

Last week, KPMG's chief executive Andrew Yates and auditing partner Julian McPherson resigned after the mishandling of whistleblower allegations was revealed.

KPMG Australia chief operating officer Eileen Hoggett also announced she was stepping aside from that role this week, although she is remaining with the firm.

In a statement, KPMG Australia confirmed "its treatment of a whistleblower and investigation into their allegations fell short of the firm's expectations, those of the whistleblower and the broader community".