Tax watchdog launches new probe into current and former PwC partners 

Edmund Tadros Oct 16, 2025 

 The country’s tax watchdog is investigating current and former PwC partners for potential code breaches, prolonging the firm’s pain from its long-running scandal over the leaking of government information. 

The number of individuals and the nature of the Tax Practitioners Board’s inquiries are unclear, but the new probes are expected to be completed by next year. The regulator is also investigating senior figures from other major firms, according to people not authorised to discuss ongoing inquiries.

 Also looming over the firm is the Australian Federal Police’s investigation into the actions of former partners relating to the tax leaks matter, known as Operation Alesia. AFP assistant commissioner Stephen Nutt told a Senate hearing last week that officers had “so far” reviewed 90,000 documents in the ongoing probe and that the “investigation is very much ongoing”.

PwC has been working to move on from a scandal that erupted after it was revealed that former partner Peter Collins shared confidential information with PwC personnel to market the firm’s tax services. The firm then designed schemes to help clients sidestep the tax laws that it was helping develop.

The scandal’s fallout led to hundreds of PwC partners and thousands of staff leaving the firm, an unprecedented crackdown on tax advisers and the prospect of wholesale changes to the way the major accounting firms are regulated. PwC’s current chief executive, Kevin Burrowes, has responded by pushing through extensive reforms to the way the firm is governed and operates since his appointment in the middle of 2023.

Four findings

Peter de Cure, the chairman of the Tax Practitioners Board, told a separate Senate estimates hearing last week that the board had completed the four investigations into the tax leaks matter, making findings against two current and two former PwC partners. This means that all 10 of the announced investigations into the leaks matter have now been completed.

The unnamed individuals, de Cure said, had breached the Tax Practitioners Board’s code to act with “honesty and integrity”.

He also said that one of the former partners has appealed the finding: “There is one further case ... the tax agent in that matter is exercising their appeal rights, and the Federal Court has provided confidentiality orders in relation to that matter, so I’m not at liberty to discuss that matter any further.”

The two current PwC partners sanctioned were not directly involved in sharing confidential information but failed to take appropriate action over the matter, according to people familiar with the details of the finding who asked for anonymity to speak more freely.

Pressed by Greens senator Barbara Pocock to explain the value of a confidential sanction, de Cure replied: “It is not behaviour to the extent which is warranted at a more severe penalty ... and [they] are expected to improve their compliance with the code in the future.”

The findings follow the board sanctioning former partner Peter Collins and ex-PwC chief executive Tom Seymourover the tax leaks scandal. Collins was deregistered by the Tax Practitioners Board for dishonesty and for sharing confidential government briefings with PwC partners and clients. 

Seymour was also deregistered, in his case for failing to act on signs that secret government information was being shared by tax partners at the firm. Collins has not commented publicly on the sanction, while Seymour has said the Tax Practitioners Board’s findings were incorrect.

PwC ‘committed to change’

Separately, another former PwC partner, Richard Gregg, has been deregistered by the Tax Practitioners Board for making “false or misleading statements in applications for the [R&D Tax Incentive] for multiple clients”. This sanction was unrelated to the tax leaks matter. Gregg, who has not practised as a tax agent since last year, settled a defamation action against PwC this year for being wrongly linked to the firm’s tax leaks scandal.

In August, the Finance Department lifted a ban on PwC working for the government, angering Pocock and Labor senator Deborah O’Neill, who accused the firm of failing to answer questions about aspects of the leak.

PwC Australia remains under the supervised remediation of the firm’s global operation following the tax leaks scandal and partially funds the salary of Burrowes. Under his leadership, the firm has fulfilled all but one of its 47 “commitments to change”. This includes appointing independent directors and becoming the first big firm to publish local audited accounts.

The Tax Practitioners Board and PwC declined to comment.

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Edmund Tadros leads our coverage of the professional services sector. He is based in our Sydney newsroom. Email Edmund at edmundtadros@afr.com.au

 

         TPB continues compliance crackdown on PwC, broader industry

As the PwC tax leaks scandal remains front of mind for the industry, the Tax Practitioners Board is launching an investigation into current and former PwC partners for potential code breaches.

By Imogen Wilson • 17 October 2025 

As the TPB continues down the path of a sharpened focus on delivering a fair, data-driven, risk-based compliance program, it is looking to delve deeper into the conduct of current and former PwC partners.

Yesterday morning (16 October), The Australian Financial Review reported that the “tax watchdog” had launched a new investigation putting current and former PwC partners under its microscope in the long aftermath of the big four firm’s tax leaks scandal.

According to the Financial Review, “The number of individuals and the nature of the TPB’s inquiries are unclear, but the new probes are expected to be completed by next year.”

“The regulator is also investigating senior figures from other major firms, according to people not authorised to discuss ongoing inquiries,” the Financial Review said.

The launch of the alleged investigation comes after the TPB unveiled its 2025–26 corporate plan in August and TPB chair, Peter de Cure, shared the regulator’s view on an Accountants Daily podcast in July.  

For the duration of the next financial year, de Cure said the TPB would take a sharpened approach and focus on a fair and data-driven risk-based compliance program, supporting tax practitioners and the public, contributing to informing the tax and regulatory system as well as further enhancing its capabilities.

Off the back of the uncovered PwC scandal, de Cure said the TPB would aim to promote voluntary compliance, while ensuring fairness for ethical practitioners.

“These priorities will address systemic issues like tax fraud and shared risks such as personal tax obligations, while also targeting promoters of tax schemes, unregistered preparers and professional misconduct to protect vulnerable Australians from financial abuse,” he said.

“These priorities are based on data, complaints and key risks in our compliance program. Sharing our compliance priorities helps the tax profession to review and improve services, protecting their clients, practice, and the integrity of the profession.”

In a podcast episode with Peter de Cure earlier this year, statistics on whistleblower reports under the TPB’s regime – which came into play in 2024 – were also shared, with over 1,100 whistleblower complaints having been received by the watchdog.

The whistleblower arrangements were introduced last year on 1 July to individuals who ‘blew the whistle’ about related entities to the TPB to assist it in performing its functions and duties under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.

On this, de Cure said since the enforcement of the reforms, the TPB had received a total of 1,111 complaints, of which 601 qualified for disclosure and 106 had an eligible relationship.

“For the first time, the TPB is now an eligible whistleblower recipient. So, we have a system with the ATO where the complaints can be made direct to us, direct to the ATO or to the government at large. Now we have a process with the ATO where we triage those complaints and divide them between ourselves,” he said.

“The right ones that are about the ATO go to them, the ones that are relevant for us come to us. Over the period, we've received a total of 1100 complaints, of which 601 qualify.”

Accountants Daily has reached out to the TPB for comment to confirm the recently launched investigation into current and former PwC partners as reported by the Financial Review.