Westpac's Peter Nash quits board as KPMG audit-leaks scandal closes in

Peter Nash has walked away from the Westpac board, three weeks after his private ties to KPMG became a public problem.

What Westpac announced

Westpac told the market on Wednesday 1 July 2026 that non-executive director Peter Nash would retire from the board, ending a tenure that began in 2018.verifiedVerified Sourced from Westpac Director Nash Leaves Board Over Ties to KPMG (Reuters, U.S. News wire). Chairman Steven Gregg said in a statement: 'With recent attention on Peter's former roles and relationships at KPMG, he has decided now is the right time to retire from the board to limit any ongoing distraction for the company'.verifiedVerified Sourced from Westpac Director Nash Leaves Board Over Ties to KPMG (Reuters, U.S. News wire).

Gregg defended the bank's 2023-24 auditor selection, saying: 'The structure of Westpac's audit tender process was robust. Peter declared his past connections with KPMG and was not on the selection committee. But he acknowledges the perception of bias that may have been created by his relationships'.verifiedVerified Sourced from Westpac director Nash leaves board over ties to KPMG (Reuters via WMBD). Westpac had earlier confirmed KPMG as its external auditor from the 2025 financial year, replacing PwC, whose partners had audited the bank in various forms since 1968.

Why the KPMG link matters

KPMG Australia is at the centre of a widening scandal after a whistleblower alleged partners misused confidential Lendlease board papers to pitch for major audit tenders at Westpac, Dexus and, according to Treasury commentary, Macquarie Group. The firm has also confirmed that sensitive Optus information moved improperly across an internal ethical divider to a team pitching for the audit of rival Telstra, which ultimately went to Deloitte.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has opened a formal investigation into KPMG audit partners; ASIC chair Sarah Court told a Senate Estimates hearing on 5 June 2026 that the regulator was on the case. Around $270 million in federal contracts are under review, and KPMG has agreed not to bid for new Commonwealth work for three months.

The parliamentary hearing that changed the story

At a parliamentary committee hearing in mid-June 2026, then-KPMG chair Martin Sheppard told MPs and senators that Nash had stayed at his home during KPMG's audit pitch to Westpac in 2023, describing the pair as long-standing friends. Sheppard resigned as KPMG chair the following week alongside audit partners Paul Rogers and Eileen Hoggett, part of a broader governance reset that included appointing an independent chair and independent board members.

Greens senator Barbara Pocock accused KPMG of having 'leapt over any ethical consideration' in pursuit of commercial gain and referred the firm to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, drawing parallels with the 2023 PwC tax-leaks scandal.

Who is being held accountable

Westpac has not accused Nash of wrongdoing; Gregg framed the retirement as a distraction-management decision. Nash himself has not been named as a subject of the ASIC investigation, which is focused on KPMG audit partners. Inside KPMG, though, accountability has been more sweeping: CEO Andrew Yates resigned on 29 May 2026, chief operating officer Eileen Hoggett stepped down from that role on 3 June 2026, and chairman Martin Sheppard plus audit boss Julian McPherson exited on 23 June 2026.

Interim CEO Stan Stavros said in a statement: 'We did not meet the standards expected of us, and we recognise the impact this has had on the whistleblower, our people, our clients and the community'. Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino has floated structural remedies, telling the market: 'In recent years, we have seen behaviour from some large accounting, auditing and consulting firms in Australia that is not fair and honest'.

Wider fallout and Nash's other boards

The KPMG scandal has prompted Treasury to release a consultation paper canvassing a structural break-up of the Big Four's audit and consulting arms, or capping partnerships at 400 partners; consultation runs until 12 August 2026. Lendlease has already ended its near-seven-decade audit relationship with KPMG, with chairman John Gillam calling the firm's actions a 'fundamental breach of trust'.

Nash's own governance record was already under investor pressure. About 40% of Westpac shareholders voted against his re-election in December 2025, partly reflecting his prior service as an ASX Limited director from 2019 to 2025 through a period of technology and governance upheaval at the exchange. He remains chairman of Johns Lyng Group and a director of Mirvac at the time of writing.