The Controller and Auditor-General guidance document ‘Principles to underpin management by public entities of funding Non-Government Organisations’ are to be applied in DHB purchasing decisions. A copy of this document can be found at http://www.oag.govt.nz/2006/funding-ngos/. The principles within this document are:

1. Lawfulness: Have activities, resourcing, and accountability requirements been undertaken within the authority granted by Parliament?

2. Accountability: Have public entities given full and accurate accounts of their activities? Are governance and management arrangements suitable to address any concerns?

3. Openness (transparency): Is the nature of the funding arrangement, and the way in which it was entered into, clear to all parties?

4. Value for money: Are resources used effectively and efficiently, without waste, and in a way that optimises the public benefit?

5. Fairness and Integrity: Are public entities and Non Government Organisations that are involved in funding arrangements together meeting Parliament’s and the public’s expectations of an appropriate standard of behaviour in the public sector?