Colin KrugerUpdated June 19, 2026 — 9:21am,first published 8:21amWatch live as KPMG, its lawyers, clients, regulators and associates face a grillingBy Colin KrugerWelcome to our live blog of the parliamentary joint committee public hearing into the KPMG whistleblower scandal in Canberra.Latest Posts9.21amKPMG’s repeat exam cheating By Colin KrugerSenator Barabara Pocock: “What’s wrong? What’s broken in the system that we have repetitive behaviour like this? … What’s wrong with penalty? What’s wrong with the consequences? What’s wrong with our regulation that a large company like this, on the public record fined once, comes back again?”“There may be consequences, but they are not deterring the behaviour from what we have seen.”Greens senator Barbara Pocock questioned Finance officials about the KPMG allegations.Getty Images9.15amO’Neill says KPMG’s response to the crisis was ‘nothing to see here’ By Colin KrugerAfter the whistleblower allegations were made public in March, KPMG boss Yates contacted van Onselen: “We were informed that there was no basis to the allegations.”O’Neill: “He says, don’t worry, it was a whistleblower matter, and we’ve investigated it. There’s nothing to see here?”Van Onselen: “Mr Yates and KPMG are very well informed about their disclosure obligations.”9.07amCA ANZ boss: ‘I’m disgusted by it’ By Colin KrugerWhen she found out, van Onselen says she was deeply unhappy. “What I think it says in relation to the individuals involved who were partners of KPMG is extremely serious conduct, and I’m disgusted by it. It’s basic 101 … in terms of ethics, principles,” she says.“Every young lawyer and every young accountant in the country has it drummed into them to respect your client’s confidentiality.”Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand chief executive Ainslie van Onselen ordered the new investigation.Alex Ellinghausen9.05amCA ANZ in the dark on Lendlease ‘theft’ before it became publicBy Colin KrugerLabor senator Deborah O’Neill takes a victory lap for raising the scandal to the public’s attention via a speech in the Senate, making a point by implication that KPMG did not disclose the issue to the professional accounting body.O’Neill: “For clarity, did you know about the Lendlease theft of documents before my speech on the 24th of March?”Van Onselen: “No, we did not, enator.”8.59amAccounting body CA ANZ says it has 12 active investigations under way By Colin KrugerChartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand boss Ainslie van Onselen, whose organisation is responsible for professional standards among accountants, says there are numerous investigations under way relating to the KPMG scandal.“The independent professional conduct committee is progressing 12 active investigations, including three initiated for self-disclosures,” she says.“It’s basic professional principle. If you access something you shouldn’t, you should fix it immediately and not use it to your advantage.”8.53am‘What else was accessed and used?’By Colin KrugerLendlease chairman John Gillam says that the scandal has raised wider concerns about KPMG, though the Lendlease witnesses have also emphasised to the Senate that there many people of integrity at the firm.Gillam: “It’s a good question because whenever you have a fundamental breach of trust, you then have these other doubts creep in.”O’Neill: “I guess that the reality is, that it [information] was accessed and used. The question is, what else was accessed and used?”8.49amKPMG have denied Lendlease access to information relating to illicit sharing of company’s informationBy Colin KrugerLegal professional privilege, which is intended to protect lawyers’ advice to their clients, is a key issue in these proceedings. KPMG and the firm’s lawyers at Allens have made clear that they will claim that a lot of information about the scandal is protected, and should not be made available to the Senate or the public. Here’s how that’s affecting Lendlease.O’Neill: “So they’re claiming legal professional privilege over documents that relate directly to information that you seek to manage what’s happening in your own company and about your company.”Lombardo: “Yeah, they are seeking to protect their information. Importantly, we were trying to make sure we understand exactly the use of that information through the allegations.”8.47amLendlease boss ‘took comfort’ there would be a robust investigation in 2025By Colin KrugerLombardo on his interactions with KPMG chief executive Peter Yates: “I do remember him saying an investigation had taken place at that point in time, so I took comfort that [they] would have undertaken a robust investigation, was my assumption.”Lendlease Chair John Gillam and CEO Tony Lombardo.AAPIMAGE8.39amAdditional costs and disruption for Lendlease from whistleblower fallout and change of auditors By Colin KrugerLendlease chairman John Gillam mentions the cost and disruption of having to dump KPMG as its auditor: “As stated in my opening statement, this is a grave misuse of their access privileges, and we’re deeply discontented with this behaviour. So, we will move as expeditiously as we can.”Lendlease chairman John Gillam.Dominic Lorrimer8.37am‘Fundamental breach of trust’: Lendlease criticises KPMG’s response to the scandalBy Nick BonyhadyLendlease boss Tony Lombardo says that there has been a “fundamental breach of trust” by KPMG, and acknowledges that it was brought to the property company’s attention by the Senate committee now investigating the matter.Previously, Lombardo says, KPMG had claimed that allegations about the misuse of confidential Lendlease information could not be substantiated.He says that his team has had numerous meetings with KPMG. “KPMG has responded at each of those points,” he says, but the information from the consultancy “has come back very piecemeal … as we’ve learnt more through this whole process”.1 of 2