Covid-19

Links to our reports, articles, blog posts, and published letters about the public sector response to Covid-19.

Cover image - Jun 16, 2022 Response to letter about Rapid Antigen Tests

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.

Cover image - Mar 31, 2022 Inquiry into the Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme

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.

Cover image - Mar 17, 2022 Controller update: July to December 2021

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.

Cover image - May 18, 2021 Preparations for the nationwide roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine

May 2021: The Covid-19 Immunisation Programme is critical to New Zealand’s response to Covid-19. This report provides an independent view on how ready the Ministry of Health and district health boards are to roll out the vaccine to the general population.

Cover image - May 11, 2021 Management of the Wage Subsidy Scheme

May 2021: The Wage Subsidy Scheme is the Government's largest single area of spending in response to Covid-19. We carried out a performance audit to review how well the Government has managed the Wage Subsidy Scheme. This report is intended to provide an independent perspective to Parliament and the public and help the public sector prepare for and operate any similar schemes in the future.

Controller update: July to December 2020 Controller update: July to December 2020

30 March 2021: Most government spending for the first six months of 2020/21 has been properly authorised and was within the law. However, one of the Covid-19 initiatives has led to unappropriated spending in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Controller update on Government spending on Covid-19 Controller update on Government spending on Covid-19

17 September 2020: While carrying out our Controller work this year, we have been giving special attention to the Covid-19 spending. In this Update, we report on what has been approved, and what the Government has spent, on the Covid-19 response for the year ended 30 June 2020.

Controller update on Government spending on Covid-19 Controller update on Government spending on Covid-19

27 July 2020: We have examined the Government’s financial records for spending approved and incurred for the 11 months ended 31 May 2020. From what we have seen, the Covid-19 spending has been correctly approved.

Cover image - Jun 17, 2020 Ministry of Health: Management of personal protective equipment in response to Covid-19

June 2020: In April 2020, we agreed with the Ministry of Health to independently review its management of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the early stages of the country’s response to Covid-19. In times of crisis, people need to have trust and confidence in the systems and arrangements set up to support them. We decided that it was important to take an independent look at how the Ministry has been managing both the national reserve of PPE and the supply of PPE during the pandemic.

Controller update on Government spending on Covid-19 Controller update on Government spending on Covid-19

11 June 2020: We have examined the Government’s financial records for spending approved and expenses incurred against these approvals for the 10 months ended 30 April 2020. From what we have seen, the Covid-19 spending approvals have been managed appropriately. We report on one area where spending has been incurred without the correct approvals.

Todd Beardsworth Auditing public organisations during Covid-19

Covid-19 might have consequences for the audit of public organisations' accountability statements, and for the messages included in their audit reports. Todd Beardsworth (Assistant Auditor-General, Audit Quality) sets out some questions for organisations to consider, and looks at how Covid-19 might affect this year's audit reports.

Controller update on Government spending on Covid-19 Controller update on Government spending on Covid-19

12 May 2020: We have examined the Government's financial records for expenditure approved and expenses incurred during March 2020. From what we have seen, the Covid-19 expenditure has been approved correctly. We have not identified any expenditure incurred during March without Parliament and Cabinet approvals.

Controller update on Government spending on Covid-19 Controller update on Government spending on Covid-19

9 April 2020: There will be an unprecedented amount of public money spent over the coming months as the Government responds to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. We will monitor the Covid-19 spending and will report to the public and Parliament about how the Government is accounting for it.

COVID-19: Important governance matters to consider COVID-19: Important governance matters to consider

3 April 2020: The Auditor-General has written to the chief executives of a range of public agencies about important governance matters to consider during the response to the pandemic. The contents of this letter are useful matters for all chief executives and senior managers to consider.