21 November 2024: This report describes the results of our audit of the Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand (the Government’s financial statements). It also reports on the findings from our Controller work (where we monitor government spending to check whether it is in line with parliamentary authority).
14 November 2024: We looked at how effectively Immigration New Zealand manages decisions about skilled residence visas. Skilled residence visa applications make up a small proportion of the visa applications processed each year, but these applicants are an important group and in demand internationally.
8 November 2024: We have replied to Dr Verrall in response to her request that we inquire into the Government's decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products.
7 November 2024: Our office is one of more than 100 audit institutions participating in the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions’ ClimateScanner initiative. ClimateScanner requires supreme audit institutions to assess how governments are responding to climate change. This report summarises the results of our rapid assessment. It provides a broad overview of government actions to respond to climate change and highlights areas for improvement.
5 November 2024: We looked at the actions of Environment Canterbury, Christchurch City Council, Nelson City Council, and Whanganui District Council in responding to the local impacts of climate change. All four councils are making progress with their responses to climate change and doing so in an uncertain and evolving national policy environment.
1 November 2024: In June 2020, we independently reviewed the Ministry of Health’s management of national reserve supplies during the early stages of New Zealand’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on personal protective equipment. This letter summarises what we have been told by the Ministry about its progress in implementing our 10 recommendations and sets out our comments.
23 October 2024: We looked at whether the Ministry of Education's approach to promoting equitable educational outcomes in Years 1-13 is informed by comprehensive, current, reliable, and relevant information.
18 October 2024: This update explains recent events in Parliament’s authorising of public expenditure and our work in monitoring government spending.
16 October 2024: This 2023/24 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.
9 October 2024: We wrote to the Ministry of Health about the procurement of services from Gumboot Friday/I am Hope without an open, transparent, and competitive procurement process.
8 October 2024: We asked the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development for an update on its response to recommendations we made in 2023 about its leadership of the housing and urban development system.
26 September 2024: In June 2023, we published a report that looked at Auckland Council's preparedness for responding to an emergency. In our follow-up work we found that since the 2023 floods, Auckland Council has made significant steps towards setting up a well-functioning emergency response system, in line with review recommendations. It now needs to focus on ensuring that its new systems and processes are thoroughly tested and practised, and that everybody involved in responding to an emergency is aware of and fully supported to carry out their role.
20 August 2024: Each year, we produce reports that summarise what we’ve observed in different parts of the public sector and set out the results of our audits in that sector for the latest audited year.
30 July 2024: Councils that supply drinking water achieved just under 60% of their targets for water supply measures in 2022/23. We encourage councils to investigate the reasons for non-compliance with drinking water standards and prioritise remedial actions, particularly where this could affect water quality and safety.
Our audit of the Government’s financial statements and our Controller function
