Energy Minister Chris Bowen says he wants to ensure the "absolute accuracy" of claims made by Australian companies about the quality of coal exports.
Mr Bowen's comments followed accusations levelled in Parliament on Monday that mining companies, coal testers, bankers and auditors were complicit in falsifying tests to make coal exports appear cleaner than they were and bribing overseas customer representatives to cover it up.
Glencore, one of the companies mentioned in independent MP Andrew Wilkie's speech to Parliament, said it had not been investigated for falsifying coal test results.
Asked if Glencore had been involved in doctored testing, a company spokesperson said: "We note the comments and allegations made by Andrew Wilkie.
"Glencore has not been involved in any investigations or proceedings related to this matter."
The coal giant, which operates nine mines in the Hunter, was among eight companies accused of being involved in a testing "scam".
The government has asked for an Australian Securities and Investments Commission briefing on the allegations.
Labor has not responded directly to Mr Wilkie's call for a parliamentary inquiry, but Mr Bowen said on Tuesday that the government was taking his claims "very seriously".
"Mr Wilkie has not raised this with me directly; he's raised it in the Parliament," he told ABC Radio.
"That means we'll take our time to obviously look at what's he's raised in the Parliament carefully.
"I do note there have been inquiries into these matters by ASIC and others, so it has been examined ...
"But I want to ensure the absolute accuracy of all claims made by Australian firms and I will look at the matters Mr Wilkie raised yesterday."
Mr Wilkie said a senior coal industry executive had provided him with thousands of documents which "prove Australian companies have been lying for years about the quality of our coal".
He named Glencore, Peabody, Anglo American, TerraCom, Macquarie bank, Ernst&Young and testing firms ALS and SGS among industry players implicated in the "scandal".
Hunter MP Dan Repacholi, whose electorate includes most of the region's mines, said the coal sector was not "above the law".
"No matter what the industry, we have rules that need to be followed," he said.
"If there is something there that needs investigation, then the authorities will deal with it, and we will look at what else needs to be done.
"At the moment these are unfounded allegations made by an MP under parliamentary privilege and we have to wait for authorities to look at them."
ALS, which runs coal testing laboratories at Mayfield and Maitland, and SGS were accused of falsifying results two years ago.
The Newcastle Herald reported at the time that fake testing was an "open secret" in the Hunter mining industry.
An external audit showed 45 to 50 per cent of ALS tests had been doctored in the previous 13 years. The company suspended four staff, including three in Newcastle.
ASIC investigated the matter but took no action.
Mr Wilkie tabled in Parliament two versions of an SGS coal sample analysis which he said had been altered to show a moisture content of 15.9 per cent instead of 16.7 per cent.
The test was on a shipment of TerraCom Resources coal from northern Queensland to Japan in 2019.
A Peabody spokesperson said on Monday that the company "strongly denies" Mr Wilkie's claims.
An Ernst&Young spokesperson said the firm would not comment on matters relating to clients.
