Request for your feedback
Tēnā koutou katoa.
I am pleased to present the Controller and Auditor-General’s Draft annual plan 2025/26 for your feedback.
The two business units of the Controller and Auditor-General – Audit New Zealand and the Office of the Auditor-General – work to improve trust and promote value in the public sector. We do this by assessing and reporting on how well public organisations perform and account for their performance.
The annual plan is an important accountability document that sets out our work programme for 2025/26. As always, the focus of the work will be on where we can best influence improvements in the performance and accountability of public organisations.
We have a range of functions to help achieve this. The most significant is our mandatory audit function, which makes up about 85% of our work. We also monitor government spending against the authority provided by Parliament. Together, this work provides an independent view on how public spending and performance are reported across the public sector.
We also have a discretionary programme of work that includes performance audits, inquiries, special studies, commentaries, sector reports and updates, and good practice guidance and seminars. This work enables us to look at issues of performance in more depth and to highlight best practice in areas relevant to our role.
All this work underpins the advice and support we provide select committees to help them scrutinise public organisations.
Implementing our strategy
The work included in this draft annual plan is focused on the priorities in The Auditor-General’s strategic intentions to 2028. They are:
- strengthening our core assurance role;
- increasing our impact with public organisations – through more meaningful performance reporting, an increased focus on value for money, a long-term view in planning and decision-making, and strong integrity practices;
- enhancing our impact in te ao Māori; and
- building on our reputation as a source of trusted information.
Our draft annual plan also builds on the success of initiatives introduced in previous years, including rapid performance audits (where we report on matters of immediate public interest
within 12 weeks), holding events that bring public sector leaders and experts together to share knowledge and good practice, integrity audits, and our work targeted at influencing improvements in performance reporting and accountability.
The range and the depth of the work we plan to do is ambitious. It reflects the challenges we see in the public sector, and where we consider we can best use our role to influence positive change.
How we developed this draft annual plan
We selected the work in this draft annual plan after considering a wide range of inputs:
- feedback from select committees, including consideration of the priorities select committees agree in their scrutiny plans;
- a survey of New Zealanders to identify their interests and concerns about public sector performance;
- concerns raised with us by members of Parliament and the public;
- findings from our audits and other work with public organisations;
- our research and environment scanning;
- feedback from our audit and risk committee; and
- advice from our rōpū Māori and our central and local government advisory groups.
A new Auditor-General will begin his term in July 2025. The incoming Auditor-General might choose to amend aspects of the work programme based on his priorities for his term.
Your feedback is important
I am interested in all of your feedback and suggestions on this draft plan. Please send your feedback to [email protected] by Wednesday 21 May 2025.
After considering your feedback we will publish our annual plan for 2025/26 by 30 June.
Nāku noa, nā
John Ryan
Controller and Auditor-General | Tumuaki o te Mana Arotake
22 April 2025