Australia’s federal government is preparing sweeping regulatory reforms that would require PwC, KPMG and other global firms to structurally separate their audit and consulting operations and restrict offering both services to the same client. The proposals also include a 400-partner cap, shorter audit tenures and stronger enforcement powers for ASIC. The overhaul follows KPMG’s recent confidential-data misuse scandal and PwC’s tax information leak, and is aimed at restoring trust in the sector.