PwC reassured Finance over NACC probe, data breaches

PwC was telling the Department of Finance it remained under active investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Tax Practitioners Board and the Australian Federal Police while it tried to rebuild trust after the Collins tax-leak scandal, according to FOI documents reported by The Australian.

The documents add fresh detail to PwC’s post-scandal clean-up. They show the firm was still dealing with live regulatory scrutiny, internal breaches and misconduct reporting as it sought to restore its standing with government.

Active probes

The reporting says PwC told Finance it was assisting with ongoing investigations arising from the Collins matter, referring to former partner Peter Collins and the scandal that triggered major fallout for the firm.

PwC was required to provide six-monthly updates to Finance under arrangements tied to the scandal and the departure of then-chief executive Tom Seymour. In those updates, the firm said it was under active investigation by the NACC, the TPB and the AFP.

Those disclosures matter because they came while PwC was trying to win back government trust after a period of intense scrutiny over its conduct and controls.

PwC also sought to reassure Finance about its governance and compliance arrangements. The FOI material shows the firm was presenting itself as a business still working through the consequences of the scandal, while trying to show it had stronger oversight in place.

Breaches and misconduct

The documents also describe a data breach PwC told Finance about. In that case, the firm said the incident involved internal, non-client information sent to a personal Gmail account and that it did not involve client information.

Separate reporting in April said PwC’s 2025 full-year report disclosed another data breach reported to Finance in January 2025. That earlier breach was also described as not involving client data or AI systems.

The April report said PwC disciplined 10 employees in the 2025 financial year. The newer FOI reporting adds that PwC disclosed 84 misconduct incidents, including eight classified as serious misconduct.

Taken together, the disclosures suggest PwC was still managing internal control problems at the same time as it was trying to restore confidence with the public sector.

Why it matters

PwC has been under pressure since the Collins scandal, which led to governance changes and restrictions on its government work. The firm later sold its public-sector consulting business and has been trying to rebuild credibility with government buyers.

The latest documents show that effort was unfolding while the firm remained exposed to active regulatory probes and ongoing questions about internal behaviour.

That has implications not just for PwC, but for government procurement and compliance oversight more broadly. Finance has been monitoring PwC through periodic reporting linked to the earlier fallout arrangements, and the new disclosures go to whether the firm’s controls were strong enough to support a return to sensitive public work.

What remains unclear

The current procedural status of the NACC, TPB and AFP matters referenced in the documents is not clear from the reporting.

It is also not clear whether Finance has changed its assessment of PwC in light of the newly disclosed material, or whether any new restrictions or conditions have been applied.

Further detail may emerge if PwC or Linklaters publishes more from its internal review, or if additional FOI releases shed more light on the misconduct figures and breach handling.

Timeline

PwC’s post-scandal monitoring has stretched across several years. Greens senator Barbara Pocock referred PwC to the NACC over the Collins scandal in July 2023, according to the reporting.

PwC later disclosed a data breach to the Department of Finance in January 2025, according to April 2026 reporting. The same April report said the firm’s 2025 full-year report recorded a separate data breach and disciplinary action against 10 employees.

The latest FOI-based reporting, published on June 24, 2026, says PwC told Finance it was under active investigation by the NACC, TPB and AFP while still working to rebuild trust.

What happens next will likely depend on any response from Finance, the regulators or PwC, and on whether more documents are released.