NSW government temporarily bans all PwC work on tax projects

Inquiry into state local health districts’ use of consultants to begin after firm revealed to have misuse of confidential information

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

The New South Wales government will suspend the embattled consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers from working on tax projects as it emerged that the state’s health districts spent at least $124m on consultants since 2011.

The temporary ban will be announced on Thursday, when a state parliamentary inquiry into the public sector’s use of consultants will begin, and follows revelations that PwC misused confidential federal government information for commercial gain.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup