'Ministers are not involved': Gallagher speaks on Finance's PwC call - The Canberra Times

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has distanced herself from her department's move to green-light PricewaterhouseCoopers to bid for federal government contracts despite the firm's tax leaks scandal.

"Ministers are not involved in procurement decisions," Senator Gallagher told the Senate on Thursday.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and, inset, Greens senator Barbara Pocock. Pictures by Keegan Carroll

"It is a matter for the department."

The comments were in response to questioning by Greens senator Barbara Pocock after she introduced a bill that would ban companies found to have engaged in "unethical" conduct from receiving government work for up to five years.

"Labor must urgently fix the legal loopholes to ensure stronger protections from dodgy contractors and this bill is a gift for Labor," Senator Pocock said, before asking Senator Gallagher if she would support the Greens bill.

"Under current laws ... The government cannot ban a delinquent, unethical firm like PwC," the Greens senator said.

"Incredibly, at present, it relies on the wrongdoer to agree to ban itself from government contracts. That's like asking a criminal to agree to go to jail. What a joke."

Senator Gallagher said that her job as the minister was to "make sure that there is the process around who procures with government, how people can engage with government to win contracts, that those arrangements are proper and appropriate."

But, she said, the decisions about who was eligible were "matters, quite rightly, left to the public service."

"I get a lot of feedback about how people would like ministers to get more involved in procurement. I think there are very good reasons why we don't."

Senator Gallagher said she had held "a number of briefings" with her department on its PwC decision.

"It was a voluntary agreement that was reached for PwC not to procure from or not to seek contracts from government for a period of time," she said.

"Finance undertook some detailed work and sought commitments and assurances from them that work has been completed, and the advice to me from Finance was that ... With all the assurance and undertakings that [PwC had] given, it was appropriate to allow them to bid for work."

PwC Australia had been barred from bidding for federal government contracts since April 2024, following revelations of a tax leak scandal where the firm allegedly misused confidential government information for commercial gain, which is subject to an ongoing Australian Federal Police investigation.

But the department revealed last month that it had decided it was "appropriate for Australian government entities to consider contracting with PwC Australia as they would any other supplier" - and revealed the Commonwealth was already working with the firm.

PwC Australia said at the time that the firm had "implemented, or is in the process of implementing, appropriate structures to significantly improve its ethical operation."

Senator Pocock said Australia urgently needed "greater transparency and stronger procurement protections" and that the government had "betrayed the Australian people" by letting PwC "back into the fold."