Publications produced during 2022

13 December 2022: We took an independent look at what happened in 2020, to understand how resources and efforts were co-ordinated as the pandemic unfolded.

13 December 2022: This report presents the results of our annual audits and other work in local government during 2021.

13 December 2022: This report sets out the operating environment for central government, the results of our audit of the Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the year ended 30 June 2022, our work carrying out the Controller function, and our observations about performance reporting across central government.

22 November 2022: A high-level overview of the 2021 school audits. We have provided this information, and a list of recommendations, to the Secretary for Education.

17 November 2022: The Auditor-General has written to the Speaker, as chairperson of the Officers of Parliament Committee, to summarise the Auditor-General's concerns about a lack of transparency and accountability over the spending of public money on new initiatives.

17 November 2022: We have written a submission to the Productivity Commission on the interim report "A fair chance for all – Breaking the cycle of persistent disadvantage".

31 October 2022: We have written to the Chief Executive of Wellington City Council about the process the Council followed to procure structural engineering services for Project Te Matapihi – the repair of Wellington’s Central Library.

27 October 2022: Earlier this year, Auditor-General John Ryan reached the mid-point of his seven-year term. He commissioned a review to reflect on where we are as an Office, identify the challenges the Office faces, and confirm the key priorities for the rest of his term.

18 October 2022: This 2021/22 annual report describes the work we have carried out to demonstrate how we will achieve our ultimate outcome – that Parliament and the public have trust and confidence in New Zealand's public sector.

13 October 2022: An Audit and Risk Committee provides a council’s governing body – the set of all elected councillors – and the community with confidence that a council is managing its risks. Here we provide suggestions for how best to set up and run such a committee.

29 August 2022: We have written to Inland Revenue and Nicola Willis, MP about cost of living payments made by the government.

18 August 2022: We asked the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai and the Ministry for Primary Industries Manatū Ahu Matua for an update on their response to recommendations we made in 2019 about marine protection planning processes.

8 August 2022: Our submission to the Finance and Expenditure Committee on the Water Services Entities Bill.

27 July 2022: This report sets out the main findings and observations from our audits of local authorities’ 2021-31 long-term plans (LTPs).

21 July 2022: We commissioned Haemata Limited to help us understand more about Māori perspectives on effective public accountability. Guided by kaupapa Māori research principles, Haemata had wide-ranging discussions with 35 Māori participants about their perspectives on accountability and trust in, and with, the public sector. The findings in Haemata's report highlight issues that we consider are of importance to all public organisations that seek to build and maintain trust and confidence with Māori.

June 2022: Our annual plan outlines our discretionary programme of work for 2022/23 – performance audits, special studies, regular reports and updates, and good practice guidance. This is work that we consider will help us to achieve our ultimate outcome – that Parliament and the public can have trust and confidence in New Zealand’s public sector.

30 June 2022: We have replied to Hon Jacqui Dean MP about her concerns whether the $1.2 billion expenditure on the Jobs for Nature programme is providing value for money.

29 June 2022: We carried out a performance audit to assess the effectiveness of Crown entity monitoring arrangements and identify opportunities where monitoring could be improved.

28 June 2022: We looked at the governance arrangements for the City Rail Link project to see whether they were effective and likely to support its successful completion.

17 June 2022: Councils will soon be setting rates for 2022/23. We want to make councils aware of some rate-setting issues and legal requirements to consider when setting rates.

16 June 2022: We have replied to Chris Bishop MP about his request to investigate the Government’s purchasing and administration of Rapid Antigen Tests as part of the Covid-19 health response.

14 June 2022: Councils need to take care to make sure that council communications are not used, or appear to be used, for political purposes. Here are some of the main things councils should watch out for when making decisions about communication during this pre-election period.

9 June 2022: We asked New Zealand Police for an update on their response to recommendations we made in 2020 about implementing the firearms buy-back and amnesty scheme.

31 May 2022: We asked Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency for an update on its response to recommendations we made in 2020 about maintaining state highways through Network Outcomes Contracts.

26 May 2022: We wrote to the Chief Executive of Masterton District Council after concerns were raised with us about aspects of the Council's Civic Centre Project.

26 May 2022: In 2020, we published a report about whether the Inland Revenue Department had a robust framework for managing, measuring, and reporting benefits from its Business Transformation programme. Inland Revenue has written to us with an update on the programme.

19 May 2022: We asked the Ministry for the Environment, the Northland Regional Council, the Hawke's Bay Regional Council, the Otago Regional Council, the Marlborough District Council, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, and the Environment Canterbury Regional Council for an update on their response to recommendations we made in 2018 about the monitoring of water used for irrigation.

4 May 2022: We have written to the Treasury about its continuing engagement with the Office on the Treasury’s data releases concerning the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund.

29 April 2022: We have replied to Matt Doocey MP about his request we inquire into the Government's 2019 $1.9 billion investment into mental health and addiction services.

14 April 2022: This report expands on the main findings from our 2020 audits of tertiary education institutions and provides our observations on the tertiary education sector in 2021. It focuses on two key areas – the ongoing vocational education reform programme and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tertiary education sector.

31 March 2022: Concerns were raised in the media and our Office about how the Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme (STAPP) was managed. Because of these concerns, and the amount of public money involved, we carried out an inquiry into the STAPP eligibility criteria for funding and the process for assessing funding applications.

24 March 2022: We have replied to Mr Peter Newport, Managing Editor of Crux Publishing Limited, about his concern regarding the decision of Queenstown Lakes District Council to sell the block of land known as Lakeview.

24 March 2022: In October last year, we sent a submission to the New Zealand Auditing and Assurance Standards Board on Exposure Draft 2021-4, Amendments to Professional and Ethical Standard 1: Non-Assurance Services.

22 March 2022: Our submission to the Pae Ora Legislation Committee on the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill.

17 March 2022: Almost all government spending for the first six months of 2021/22 has been properly authorised and was within the law. There were three instances in which the Government incurred expenditure without having the correct authority in place.

15 March 2022: We reviewed the Treasury's He Tirohanga Mokopuna 2021 to look at how well it had identified long-term insights about challenges and opportunities and integrated them into a view of the Government’s long-term financial position.

10 March 2022: This letter describes the actions that the Ministry of Health has taken to respond to the recommendations we made in our report Preparations for the nationwide roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine, and our observations on progress towards achieving equity of access to vaccinations.

24 February 2022: We were asked to look into potential issues with a mayor and councillor voting on a plan for Hood Aerodrome. After considering the information we needed, we do not consider they had a financial interest in the decision.

20 January 2022: David Seymour MP wrote to us asking us to inquire into a decision to spend money on analysis of the Prime Minister’s Facebook page.