Victorian Government To Still Employ PwC While Waiting for Investigation’s Result

People pass the offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in St Helier, Jersey, on April 12, 2017. Matt Cardy/Getty Images

The government of the Australian state of Victoria has decided to wait until an independent review concludes to determine whether to keep working with scandal-plaguing consultancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

This comes after the firm was found to have leaked confidential federal documents, prompting the Australian government to commission an inquiry on the issue.

On May 18, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said his government had sought assurances from PwC and that he was confident no confidential information from his government was shared.

“We will wait to see what the Commonwealth government does here,” he told reporters.

“To think that someone would sign a confidentiality agreement, so essentially be working for the gamekeeper, and then be providing all of that work product to the poacher ... that’s wrong.”

Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews speaks to the media following the branch stacking allegations in Melbourne, Australia, on June 17, 2020. Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

PwC was the second-highest-paid agency among the consulting firms hired by the Victorian government in the 2021-2022 financial year, raking in $15.3 million (US$10.2 million).

According to reports seen by The Epoch Times, the Victorian government spent $176.89 million on consultancies in the last financial year, up from $66.93 million in 2019-2020 and $150.18 million in 2020-2021.

Considering all the consulting fees incurred by the Andrews Labor government since it came into power in 2014, Victorian taxpayers had to foot a bill of $896.38 million.

The Community and Public Sector Union criticised the Andrews government for its significant spending on external consultancy amid job cuts in the public sector.

Meanwhile, the premier defended his government’s hiring practice, saying there was a need for specialist skills in some situations and it was unnecessary to build a team for that purpose.

PwC’s Scandal

The whole saga began when former PwC partner Peter-John Collins was caught sharing confidential government documents with his other partners and staff.

Collins had been employed by the federal government as part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Tax Advisory Group to advise the government on legislation and policy positions concerning improving Australia’s tax laws. He was required to keep confidential information and documents provided by the Treasury as part of the job.

However, Collins leaked the secret knowledge within PwC in Australia and to overseas partners, allowing the firm to create a system that enabled large companies to avoid paying the newly devised taxes.

The scheme was discovered by a 2022 parliamentary inquiry into the management and integrity of the government consulting services, leading to harsh condemnation from Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Following the inquiry, the Tax Practitioners Board deregistered Collins’ tax agent licence and placed a two-year ban on him.

PwC CEO Tom Seymour also stepped down from his role on May 9.

The federal government has appointed former Telstra CEO Ziggy Switkowski to lead an independent investigation into PwC’s scandal.

Meanwhile, Green Senator Barbara Pocock has referred the consulting firm to Australia’s Anti-Corruption Commission.

Victoria Kelly-Clark contributed to this article.