SAMOA

AUDIT OFFICE ORDINANCE 1961

Arrangement of Provisions

1.	Short title
2.	Commencement
3.	Interpretation
4.	Controller and Chief Auditor
5.	Repealed
6.	Repealed
7.	Repealed
8.	Acting Controller and Chief Auditor
9.	Salary and allowances of Controller and Chief Auditor
10.	Audit of accounts
11.	Delegation of powers
12.	Inspectors
13.	Regulations
14.	Controller and Auditor-General
15.	Enactments amended
16.	Repeal and savings

Schedule

AUDIT OFFICE ORDINANCE 1961
1961	No. 27

AN ORDINANCE to consolidate certain enactments relating to the establishment of the Audit Office and associated matters.
[Date of assent: 29 December 1961]
[Commencement date: 1 January 1962]

1.	Short title – This Ordinance may be cited as the Audit Office Ordinance 1961.

2.	Commencement – This Ordinance comes into force on 1 January 1962.

3.	Interpretation– In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires:
“Constitution” means the Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa.

4.	Controller and Chief Auditor – There shall be a Controller and Chief Auditor who shall be appointed by the Head of State, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister.

5 - 7.	(Repealed by section 3 of the Constitution Amendment Act 1997 (No. 3))

8.	Acting Controller and Chief Auditor – (1) The Head of State, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, on the occurrence from any cause of a vacancy in the Office of the Controller and Chief Auditor, may appoint an Acting Controller and Chief Auditor who shall have and may exercise all the powers, duties and functions of the Controller and Chief Auditor.
(2) The fact that the Acting Controller and Chief Auditor exercises any power, duty or function of the Controller and Chief Auditor is conclusive evidence of his or her authority to do so.

9.	Salary and allowances of Controller and Chief Auditor – (1) There shall be paid to the Controller and Chief Auditor out of the Treasury Fund and be statutory expenditure a salary at the rate of $33,000 as from 25 November 1991 down to and inclusive of 12 May 1992, and at the rate of $41,925 a year thereafter.
(2) There shall be paid to the Controller and Chief Auditor:
(a) an allowance free of tax at the rate of $8,000 a year as from 25 November 1991 down to and inclusive of 12 May 1992, and at the rate of $10,000 a year thereafter;
(b) where the Controller and Chief Auditor is recruited from overseas, other normal allowances, rights and privileges as determined by the Public Service Commission as being applicable to other officers of the Public Service recruited from overseas and including any other allowances payable to the Controller and Chief Auditor from overseas aid funds not being payable under this Act.
(2A) In addition to the salary, the Controller and Chief Auditor are entitled to such additional benefits as may be determined by Cabinet, and subsection (3) applies to the benefits as if they formed part of the salary.
(3) The salary of the Controller and Chief Auditor shall not be diminished during his or her period of office unless as part of a general reduction of salaries applied proportionately to all persons whose salaries are determined by Act.

10.	Audit of accounts – (1) The Controller and Chief Auditor shall audit the Treasury Fund, such other public funds or accounts as may be established, the accounts of all Departments and offices of executive government and the accounts of such other public, statutory or local authorities and bodies where provided by Act.
(2) The Controller and Chief Auditor shall report at least once annually to the Legislative Assembly on the performance of the functions under Article 99 of the Constitution and shall in his or her report draw attention to any irregularities in the accounts audited by him or her.

11.	Delegation of powers – (1) The Controller and Chief Auditor may, either generally or particularly, by writing signed by him or her, delegate to any officer of the Audit Office all or any of the powers exercisable by the Controller and Chief Auditor under any Act, except this present power of delegation.
(2) Subject to any general or special directions given or conditions imposed by the Controller and Chief Auditor, the officer to whom any powers are delegated under this section may exercise those powers in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred on him or her directly by this section and not by delegation.
(3) A person purporting to act under any delegation under this section is, in the absence of proof to the contrary, presumed to be acting under the terms of the delegation.
(4) A delegation under this section may be made to a specified officer or specified officers, or to the holder or holders for the time being of a specified office or class of offices.
(5) Unless a delegation under this section is revoked, it continues in force according to its tenor. In the event of the Controller and Chief Auditor by whom any such delegation is made ceases to hold office, the delegation continues to have effect as if made by the person holding office as Controller and Chief Auditor.
(6) A delegation under this section is revocable at will, and no delegation prevents the exercise of any power by the Controller and Chief Auditor.

12.	Inspectors – The Controller and Chief Auditor may, by writing signed by him or her, appoint an officer of the Audit Office or other fit person to inspect, examine, and audit any books, accounts, or stores which are required to be inspected, examined, or audited by this Act or any other Act or by regulations, and to report thereon to the Audit Office; and for the purposes of any such inspection and report any such officer or other person has power to inspect all books, accounts, vouchers, and other papers relating thereto.

13.	Regulations – The Head of State, acting on the advice of Cabinet, may make regulations as are deemed necessary or expedient for the purpose of giving full effect to this Ordinance and for the due administration thereof, and, in particular for the audit of the Government of Samoa accounts, public money, and stores.

14.	Controller and Auditor-General – Despite the repeal or amendment of any enactment by this Ordinance the Controller and Auditor-General appointed under the provision of Part II of the New Zealand Public Revenues Act 1953 may continue to exercise and perform all the powers and functions conferred on him or her by any Act until the duties impose thereby have been completed in respect of any period before the date this Ordinance comes into force, and for that purpose that Part is taken to continue in force until such duties have been completed by him or her.

15.	Enactments amended – The enactments specified in the Schedule are amended in the manner indicated therein.
16.	Repeal and savings – (1) Section 43 of the Samoa Amendment Act 1957 (N.Z.) is repealed.
(2) Despite the repeal of any enactment by the Independent State of Samoa Act 1961 (N.Z.) the provisions of the Samoa Audit Regulations 1960 (N.Z.), as amended by this Ordinance, shall by virtue of Article 111 of the Constitution continue to apply as part of the law of Samoa on and after the 1st day of January 1962.

SCHEDULE
(Section 15)

ENACTMENTS AMENDED

Part of this Schedule was amended by s.34(b) of the Reprint Statutes (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1975, and the balance was impliedly revoked by regulation 19 of W.S.R. 1976/21.

REVISION NOTES 2008 – 2013

This is the official version of this Ordinance as at 31 December 2013.

This Ordinance has been revised by the Legislative Drafting Division in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 under the authority of the Attorney General given under the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008. 

The following general revisions have been made:
(a)	Amendments have been made to conform to modern drafting styles and to use modern language as applied in the laws of Samoa.
(b)	Amendments have been made to up-date references to offices, officers and statutes.
(c)	Insertion of the commencement date
(d)	Other minor editing has been done in accordance with the lawful powers of the Attorney General.
(i)	 “shall be” changed to “is” and “shall be deemed” changed to “is taken”
(ii)	 “shall have” changed to “has”
(iii)	 “notwithstanding” changed to “despite”
(iv)	“pursuant to” changed to “under” 
(v)	“under his or her hand” changed to “signed”
(vi)	Numbers in words changed to figures
(vii)	 “hereby” and “from time to time” (or “at any time”) removed 
(viii)	Specific reference to repealing sections of repealing Acts inserted.
(ix)	“revoked” is deleted as “repealed” has the same effect (and is the standard repeal provisions.

There were no amendments made to this Ordinance since the publication of the Consolidated and Revised Statutes of Samoa 2007.

This Ordinance is 
administered by the Ministry of Finance.