What the Auditor-General does not do

Private entities

The Auditor-General can only inquire into the actions of public entities. We cannot inquire into private organisations, including organisations that may have received funding from a public entity. However, we can look at the activities of a public entity in contracting with or directly funding a private entity, and the manner in which the public entity has monitored the private entity's use of public funds.

Policy decisions

The Auditor-General does not have any authority to question matters of government policy or local authority policy. Making policy decisions is a job for elected representatives. For example, we would not inquire into a decision by the Government or a local authority to acquire or dispose of a particular asset. We could, however, consider the extent to which the public entity had implemented that decision in keeping with the applicable policy or whether the decision-making process met relevant legal or administrative standards.

Judicial function

The Auditor-General does not have a judicial function, so we cannot make findings on whether a public entity has acted lawfully or whether an individual is culpable for a particular action. The most we can do is express an opinion. We cannot overturn a public entity's decisions or actions. That is for the courts through the judicial review process. We also cannot provide any redress or remedies for particular concerns, or direct a public entity to act on our findings or recommendations.