The Auditor-General is the constitutional auditor of public money. Sections 213 and 214 of the Constitution establish the office and define what it does.
Section 213 — appointment and independence
The Auditor-General is appointed by the Head of State, acting with and in accordance with the advice of the National Executive Council given after receiving reports from the Public Services Commission and the Public Accounts Committee.
In the performance of his functions under this Constitution, the Auditor-General is not subject to the control or direction of any person or authority.
The requirement of prior reports from an independent commission and a parliamentary committee is a real constraint on the appointment, and the independence guarantee is unqualified.
Section 214(1) — the primary functions
To inspect and audit, and to report at least once in every fiscal year (as provided by an Act) to the Parliament, on:
- the public accounts of Papua New Guinea; and
- the control of, and transactions with or concerning, the public moneys and property of Papua New Guinea,
together with such other functions as are prescribed by or under a Constitutional Law.
Note the reporting line. The Auditor-General reports to the Parliament, not to the Executive.
Section 214(2) and (3) — the reach
Unless other provision is made by law for their inspection and audit, the primary function extends to the accounts, finances and property of:
- (a) all arms, departments, agencies and instrumentalities of the National Government; and
- (b) all bodies set up by an Act of the Parliament, or by executive or administrative act of the National Executive, for governmental or official purposes.
Even where other provision for inspection or audit has been made, the Auditor-General may, if he thinks it proper, inspect and audit, and report to the Parliament on, any accounts, finances or property of such an institution — insofar as they relate to, consist of, or are derived from public moneys or property of Papua New Guinea.
A statutory body cannot place itself beyond the Auditor-General’s reach by having its own auditor. Wherever public money goes, the constitutional audit power follows it.
Section 214(4) allows an Act to expand and provide in more detail for these functions, and to confer additional functions not inconsistent with them.
What an audit report actually does
The Auditor-General reports; the report then goes to Parliament and becomes the working material of the Public Accounts Committee, whose function under section 216(2) expressly extends to reports by the Auditor-General under sections 214(2) and (3).
Where a report discloses conduct by a leader — and departmental heads and members of statutory authority boards are leaders — it may found a referral to the Ombudsman Commission. Where it discloses an offence, it may found a police investigation or a matter for the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Under section 28(5), none of those routes bars the others.
A constitutional office-holder
The Auditor-General’s independence is reinforced by the general protections for constitutional office-holders in Part IX and the Organic Law on the Guarantee of the Rights and Independence of Constitutional Office-holders, and by the Organic Law on Certain Constitutional Office-holders.
Auditor-General’s reports are tabled in Parliament and are public documents. For a citizen concerned about how public money has been handled in a province, a department or a statutory authority, they are usually the best available starting point — and section 51(4)(b) confirms that nothing in the freedom-of-information section authorises withholding information from Parliament.
Sources
Constitutional sections are amended. Before relying on anything here, read the current text: the Constitution on PacLII. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor.