
31 January 2023: We wrote to the Chief Executive of Horowhenua District Council after concerns were raised with us about the engagement by the Council of external consultants to provide services in relation to the Levin landfill.
31 January 2023: We wrote to the Chief Executive of Horowhenua District Council after concerns were raised with us about the engagement by the Council of external consultants to provide services in relation to the Levin landfill.
13 December 2022: This report presents the results of our annual audits and other work in local government during 2021.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
December 2021: Councils need to provide their communities with reliable and clear information about the matters proposed for inclusion in their long-term plan and the costs of these so that their community can engage with and provide feedback on this. This report provides our observations on councils' 2021-31 long-term plan consultation documents.
October 2021:We have previously reported that risk management was one of the least mature elements of governance in the public sector. Therefore, we carried out work to better understand the current state of councils' risk management, where the challenges and issues are, and what support councils need to improve how they manage risk.
August 2021: In this article, we share our findings on how conflicts of interest of council employees, including the chief executive and staff, are managed across four councils.
July 2021: In this report, we discuss several common trends we identified in our 2019/20 audits of port companies.
June 2021: This report presents the results of our annual audits and other work in local government during 2020.
June 2020: The Local Authorities (Members' Interests) Act 1968 (the Act) is somewhat out of date and difficult to understand, and the rules are not always easy to apply in a modern local government context. That is why we have written this plain English guide. We want members who are covered by the Act, and those advising them, to be aware of the Act's rules and the steps they need to take to ensure that they do not inadvertently breach them. This guide also explains our statutory functions under the Act.
June 2020: This report presents the results of our annual audits and other work in local government during 2018/19.
May 2020: Last year we visited 21 councils throughout New Zealand to see how they carry out procurement. We heard about the challenges councils are facing and where they felt they could improve. Based on these visits, and observations from our other work on procurement, we wrote an article that poses a series of questions about procurement practice and culture.
In these uncertain times, don’t forget your audit and risk committee. Sector Manager Kristin Aitken explains why...
Our latest Six Questions interview is with our new Director of International Engagement, Sarah Markley.
Kristin Aitken from our Local Government team discusses how council audit and risk committees can help build and maintain trust with your community.
In our latest Six Questions interview, we meet Assistant Auditor-General Andrea Reeves, who leads our Local Government Group.
September 2019: This booklet is for the elected members of councils and for new members in particular. It gives an overview of the Auditor-General's role and also outlines the kinds of interaction they can expect with the Auditor-General and with his staff.
The value of having an effective audit and risk committee – or should that be risk and assurance committee? Kristin Aitken from our Local Government team explains why councils should consider having an audit and risk committee.
September 2019: In 2011, we published a report on how effectively Waikato Regional Council, Taranaki Regional Council, Horizons Regional Council, and Environment Southland managed the effects of land use on freshwater quality in their regions. We found that the effectiveness of the four regional councils' approaches was variable. In this report, we assess the progress they have made since 2011.
Sector Manager Kristin Aitken from our Local Government team delves into some of the terms used by councils and experts in their efforts to address the effects of climate change. She also takes a look at what councils are already doing, and what they need to consider for their next long-term plans.
May 2019: This report presents the main findings from our audits of councils' long-term plans (LTPs), the results of our annual audits, and other work in local government during 2017/18.
March 2019: This report concerns a decision of the Westland District Council to carry out work at Franz Josef to protect the town's wastewater treatment plant from flooding. The work was carried out on an urgent basis and resulted in the construction of a new 700-metres-long stopbank on the bank of the Waiho River. In this report, we acknowledge the serious nature of the flood risk the Council was dealing with, and the motivation of the elected members who were driving the decision to act in the community's best interests. However, we have serious concerns about what was done in this case.
18 February 2019: The Productivity Commission has released an issues paper that will inform an inquiry into local government funding and financing. This letter provides written comments from the Office of the Auditor-General.
February 2019: This report sets out the main findings and observations from our audits of local authorities’ 2018-28 long-term plans (LTPs).
Flooding is New Zealand’s most frequent natural hazard and causes significant social, environmental, and economic costs. How is your council managing their stormwater systems to reduce the risk of your home flooding?