Federal government consulting contracts with Big Four increased 1,270% over a decade to $5 billion per year by 2023. PwC was caught sharing confidential Treasury tax policy with clients. AFP raided PwC's Sydney office in November 2024. The Senate recommended sweeping reforms; the government accepted virtually none.
Enter your postcode. We'll find your MP and pre-draft a letter about Multiple (whole-of-government)'s $5.0B in waste — ready to send from your email.
Opens your email app with a pre-filled message. You send it — we don't collect your name or email.
$5.0B of Australian taxpayer money was wasted at Multiple (whole-of-government). Federal government consulting contracts with Big Four increased 1,270% over a decade to $5 billion per year by 2023. PwC was caught sharing confidential Treasury tax policy with clients. AFP raided PwC's Sydney office in November 2024. The Senate recommended sweeping reforms; the government accepted virtually none.
Spread across Australia's 10.8 million households, that's roughly $463 per family — enough in total for funding roughly 42 public hospitals for a full year.
Federal government consulting contracts with Big Four firms (PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, EY) increased 1,270% over a decade to $5 billion per year by 2023. This is approximately 8% of all Commonwealth discretionary procurement spending.
Key documented failures:
PwC tax scandal:
- PwC used confidential Commonwealth Treasury tax policy information (shared during government advisory engagements) to advise private clients on how to structure around the new rules before they were publicly announced
- AFP raided PwC's Sydney office November 2024 as part of the criminal investigation
- PwC's government arm was sold for $1 to restructure away from regulatory consequences
Deloitte Home Affairs conflict:
- Deloitte simultaneously advised the Department of Home Affairs AND a bidder participating in the same tender
- Deloitte disclosed this conflict of interest only when it was identified externally
- The Home Affairs engagement was worth $1.5M
Senate committee response:
- Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee recommended sweeping conflict-of-interest reforms, cooling-off periods, and transparency requirements
- The federal government accepted "most" recommendations — in practice accepting the symbolic ones and rejecting structural reforms
- Revolving door between senior public servants and Big Four roles continues with no mandatory cooling-off period
Sources:
- Centre for Public Integrity: https://publicintegrity.org.au/the-mandarin-and-crikeys-revolving-door-list-how-power-bleeds-between-politics-and-the-big-four/
- PwC tax scandal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PwC_tax_scandal
Every share puts pressure on the people responsible. Make it impossible to ignore.
I send every new finding. Daily. No fluff.