After losing out on government contracts over allegations of unethical audit practices and whistleblower mishandling, KPMG Australia is restructuring its business and reviewing its costs as it deals with a difficult year.
The professional services firm, which is one of the Big Four accounting firms alongside Deloitte, PwC and EY, announced on Monday that it will cut about 5% of its workforce, affecting 27 partners and around 360 employees.
Most of the cuts will affect its consulting and business services arms, coming as demand for consulting services continues to weaken, and governments reduce their reliance on external consultants.
Here’s what happened and what the restructuring means for KPMG Australia.
David Adubiina
What led to KPMG Australia's job cuts?
KPMG's decision to cut jobs and restructure its business comes as the firm deals with months of scrutiny over allegations that confidential client information was used by partners to help the firm win business from other companies, as well as questions around how it handled a whistleblower's complaints.
In March 2026, allegations brought before the Australian Parliament claimed that KPMG audit divisions had used confidential board papers belonging to Lendlease when pitching for work with other companies, including Westpac and Dexus.
Thereby raising questions about how the firm handled confidential information belonging to its clients and whether its partners had breached the trust expected of a major audit firm.
Subscribe for free to continue reading this article
Subscribe SubscribeAlready have an account? Log in
