Major consulting firm Deloitte has admitted to the misuse of government information, widening a scandal that has already engulfed PwC. 

The admission was made during an ongoing Senate inquiry, but Deloitte has refrained from divulging further details, citing client confidentiality.

The firm disclosed that it had been terminated by the Home Affairs department due to a failure to disclose a conflict of interest. Similarly, a breach was identified in its collaboration with the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO).

PwC's misuse of confidential tax policy information has resulted in ongoing repercussions, including a tarnished reputation, numerous dismissals, parliamentary inquiries, police referrals, and the divestment of its government services division for a mere $1.

Admissions this week show misconduct is not exclusive to PwC.

Deloitte admitted to an additional nine instances of misusing confidential or proprietary information in the past financial year, down from 18 the previous year. 

Details of these cases were not revealed during the Senate inquiry, potentially triggering further investigations.

Deloitte has only provided information on two conflict of interest breaches concerning government contracts.

One allegedly involved auditing a government agency's environment, social, and governance data while simultaneously auditing the agency's financial statements without obtaining pre-approval from the ANAO. 

The other breach led to the termination of a contract with the Home Affairs department due to an undisclosed organisational conflict of interest.

According to a recent ANAO report, Deloitte was advising the department on IT procurement while a Deloitte partner was seconded to a company vying for work with the department. 

The report concluded that Deloitte had an actual conflict of interest at the time, which violated the probity plan.