(a) is charged with the duty of collecting, receiving or accounting for, or collects, receives or accounts for, public moneys;

(b) is charged with the duty of disbursing, or disburses, public moneys; or

(c) is charged with the receipt, custody or disposal of, or the accounting for, stores or receives, has in his or her custody, disposes of or accounts, for stores;

(a) a unit of the public service referred to in paragraph 54 (2) (a) of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 of the Commonwealth; or

(b) a prescribed authority;

(a) before the date of commencement of Divisions 1 and 2 of Part II—the Auditor-General for the Commonwealth; and

(b) on and after that date—the Auditor-General for the Territory appointed under section 6;

(a) a computer;

(b) papers or other materials on which there are marks, symbols, perforations or other indicators having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them;

(c) a disc, tape or other device on which information may be stored; or

(d) a device, whether electronic or otherwise, capable of storing information;

(a) a public servant; or

(b) a person who—

(i) constitutes, or is acting as a person constituting, a prescribed authority;

(ii) is, or is acting as, a member of a prescribed authority or is a deputy of such a member; or

(iii) is employed by a prescribed authority;

(a) that is declared by the regulations to be a prescribed authority for the purposes of this Ordinance; or

(b) that is included in a class of bodies so established declared by the regulations to be a class of prescribed authorities for the purposes of this Ordinance;

(a) revenue, loan, trust and other moneys received or held by any person for or on behalf of the Territory or a prescribed authority; and

(b) all moneys forming part of the Consolidated Fund or the Trust Fund;

(a) established by or under a law of the Territory; or

(b) otherwise established by the Executive.

(2) In this Ordinance—

(a) a reference to an Appropriation Act for a financial year shall be read as a reference to a law of the Territory authorising the issuing or spending of public moneys out of the Consolidated Fund for the service of that financial year or for specified expenditure in respect of that financial year; and

(b) a reference to the appropriation of amounts of money is a reference to the authorisation by a law of the Territory of the issuing or spending of public moneys.

(3) For the purposes of this Ordinance, where a person collects, receives or holds a cheque or other instrument ordering or authorising the payment of moneys, being an instrument of a kind that may be lodged with a bank for the purpose of enabling the bank to collect the moneys so payable and credit those moneys to an account with the bank, the person—

(a) shall be deemed to have collected or received, or to hold, as the case may be, an amount of moneys equal to the sum so payable; and

(b) if the moneys so payable would, if they had been collected, received or held by the person as moneys, be public moneys, shall be deemed to have collected or received, or to hold, as the case may be, an amount of public moneys equal to the sum so payable.

(4) In this Ordinance, unless the contrary intention appears, a reference to an efficiency audit of operations of a body or person shall be read as a reference to—

(a) an examination of the functions performed by, and the operations carried on by, the body or person for the purpose of forming an opinion concerning the extent to which those operations are being carried on in an economical and efficient manner; and

(b) an examination of the procedures that are followed by the body or person for reviewing operations carried on by the body or person, and an evaluation of the adequacy of those procedures to enable the body or person to assess the extent to which those operations are being carried on in an economical and efficient manner.

(5) In subsection (4), a reference to a body shall be read as including a reference to an administrative unit.

(6) For the purposes of this Ordinance—

(a) a provision of this Ordinance authorising the Auditor-General or another person to have free access to, or to search, accounts or records shall be taken to authorise the Auditor-General or other person, in a case where accounts or records are kept by means of an information storage device, to have free access to, or to search, as the case may be, the information contained in the accounts or records, or in such extracts from the accounts or records as the Auditor-General or other person requests—

(i) in a form directed by the Auditor-General or other person; or

(ii) if the Auditor-General or other person has not given a direction for the purposes of subparagraph (i)—in a form that can be understood by sight;

(b) a person who is entitled, by or under this Ordinance, to take a copy of, or extracts from, accounts or records is entitled, in a case where accounts or records are kept by means of an information storage device, to take a copy of, or extract from, the information contained in the accounts or records—

(i) in a form directed by the person; or

(ii) if the person has not given a direction for the purposes of subparagraph (i)—in a form that can be understood by sight;

(c) a requirement under this Ordinance to produce accounts or records to the Auditor-General or to another person shall be taken to include a requirement to produce, in a case where accounts or records are kept by means of an information storage device, the information contained in the accounts or records, or in such extracts from the accounts or records as the Auditor-General or other person requests—

(i) in a form directed by the Auditor-General or other person; or

(ii) if the Auditor-General or other person has not given a direction for the purposes of subparagraph (i)—in a form that can be understood by sight; and

(d) a provision of this Ordinance authorising or requiring the Auditor-General to inspect, examine or audit accounts or records shall, in a case where the accounts or records are kept by means of an information storage device, be taken to include a requirement authorising or requiring the Auditor-General to be provided with the information contained in the accounts or records, or in such extracts from the accounts or records as the Auditor-General requests—

(i) in a form directed by the Auditor-General; or

(ii) if the Auditor-General has not given a direction for the purposes of subparagraph (i)—in a form that can be understood by sight.

(7) Without limiting the powers of the Auditor-General, or of a person authorised by the Auditor-General, under any other provision of this Ordinance, where the Auditor-General, or a person authorised by the Auditor-General, is entitled, under another provision of this Ordinance, to inspect, examine or audit any accounts or records and those accounts or records are kept by means of an information storage device, the Auditor-General or person so authorised is entitled to be provided with such reasonable facilities for access to that information storage device as he or she deems necessary for the performance of his or her functions under this Ordinance.

Amounts deducted or set off deemed to be received or paid

4. (1) This section applies in relation to the Consolidated Fund and the Trust Fund.

(2) Where an amount payable out of a Fund in relation to which this section applies has been lawfully deducted from, or set off against, an amount payable into that Fund or the other Fund in relation to which this section applies and, by reason of the deduction or set-off, an amount paid into the second-mentioned Fund is less than it would otherwise have been—

(a) the amount paid into the second-mentioned Fund shall, for the purposes of this Ordinance, be deemed to be the amount that, but for the deduction or set-off, would have been so paid; and

(b) the amount deducted or set off shall, for the purposes of this Ordinance, be deemed to have been paid out of the first-mentioned Fund for the purpose for which it was so deducted or set off and to have been so paid at the same time as the amount was paid into the second-mentioned Fund.

(3) Where an amount payable into a Fund in relation to which this section applies has been lawfully deducted from, or set off against, an amount payable out of that Fund or the other Fund in relation to which this section applies and, by reason of the deduction or set-off, an amount paid out of the second-mentioned Fund is less than it would otherwise have been—

(a) the amount paid out of the second-mentioned Fund shall, for the purposes of this Ordinance, be deemed to be the amount that, but for the deduction or set-off, would have been so paid; and

(b) the amount deducted or set off shall, for the purposes of this Ordinance, be deemed to have been paid into the first-mentioned Fund for the purpose for which it was so deducted or set off and to have been so paid at the same time as the amount was paid out of the second-mentioned Fund.

(4) Where—

(a) an amount payable out of or into a Fund in relation to which this section applies has been lawfully set off against an amount payable into or out of that Fund or the other Fund in relation to which this section applies; and

(b) by reason of the set-off, no amounts are payable out of or into those Funds;

the amounts that, but for the set-off, would have been paid out of or into those Funds, shall, for the purposes of this Ordinance, be deemed to have been so paid at the time when the set-off took place.

Responsibility of Head of Administration

5. (1) The Head of Administration in control of an administrative unit is responsible for making appropriate arrangements for implementing the provisions of this Ordinance, the regulations and any direction given under this Ordinance or the regulations in relation to that unit.

(2) In subsection (1)—

(2) The Executive shall appoint a person to be the Auditor-General for the Territory.

Term of office

7. (1) A person appointed under section 6 holds office, subject to this Ordinance, for such period, not exceeding 7 years, as is specified in the instrument of appointment, but is eligible for reappointment.

(2) A person who has attained the age of 65 years shall not be appointed as Auditor-General and a person shall not be appointed as Auditor-General for a period that extends beyond the day on which the person will attain the age of 65 years.

Remuneration and allowances

8. (1) The Auditor-General shall be paid such remuneration and allowances as are prescribed.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to—

(a) remuneration if there is a subsisting determination relating to the remuneration to be paid to the Auditor-General; or

(b) an allowance of a particular kind if there is a subsisting determination relating to an allowance of that kind to be paid to the Auditor-General.

(3) In subsection (2)—

Leave of absence