KPMG Australia is cutting 27 partners and about 360 employees in the wake of an audit leaks scandal that saw it cut off from new government contracts. The audit and consulting giant today reported its revenue fell 1% year-on-year, to $2.26bn in the year 2025-26. While the embattled audit arm had seen revenue grow 11%, its consulting revenue was down 16.9%. Most of the workers to be let go are from the consulting arm.
KPMG’s new chief executive, John Sams, said weak demand for its services was expected to continue beyond the next 12 months, blaming Australia’s weak economy. Sams also acknowledged the challenges created by the company’s own failings and the work needed to rebuild trust. The firm said it was discussing further cuts to a small number of award-based jobs. Sams said KPMG would continue to assess its operating environment as it sought to stay financially sustainable.
In other news, the Victorian Bar has lashed the Liberal party’s election commitment to split the court of appeal in two. The opposition leader, Jess Wilson, announced the plan to create a dedicated court of criminal appeal alongside a separate court of civil appeal, and to appoint additional judges to the latter to set precedents for tougher sentences. Legal and civil rights groups have criticised the plan as an attempt to politicise the courts, which are independent of government.
Diesel prices are back near recent highs of above $2.50 a litre as oil markets wait for the US to announce possible Iran sanctions. Diesel in Melbourne is 255.4 cents per litre today, back where it was at the start of August, according to MotorMouth. Sydney has climbed to 247.1 cents, Brisbane is at 252.2 and Hobart 254.7. Service stations have hiked their prices as wholesale and import prices rise.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says he supports extending the royal commission on antisemitism after calls for an extension by the federal opposition were rejected by the Albanese government. The royal commission, established following the Bondi attack, is holding its final scheduled hearing block this week. Minns said he had spoken to senior members of the Jewish community who were satisfied with the hearing they got and the platform that enabled them to make their case, but did support an extension to allow further witnesses to appear.
Australia’s unemployment payments have fallen so far behind the pension they now amount to just 68% of the payment, a new research paper released today by the Australian Council for Social Services (ACOSS) has revealed. A person aged 67 who is eligible for the age pension receives $600 a week, but a 66-year-old who loses their job receives just $409 a week to cover the same basic living costs. ACOSS’s CEO, Cassandra Goldie, called on the federal government to raise the jobseeker rate to two-thirds of the minimum wage.
Ampol’s profit has soared on war-linked price surges. Oil refiner and petrol seller Ampol has seen its interim earnings jump after it managed to secure fuel supplies to capitalise on the impact of the Middle East conflict on energy prices. Net profit on a replacement cost basis jumped more than four times to $857.2m in the six months ended June 30, from $180.2m a year earlier. Its statutory first-half result was even bigger at $1.4bn, against a loss of $25.3m in the first half of 2025.
Apartment rents now cost more than half a typical worker’s take-home pay in all Australian capital cities. Renting a mid-priced unit in any of Australia’s capital cities now costs more than half a typical single worker’s take-home pay, spurring advocates to urge Labor to offer renters more protections. New modelling shows someone earning $70,000 – close to the median annual income – would have to spend two-thirds of their earnings if they wanted to rent the median Sydney apartment.
