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Legal Services Act 2011

Administration of legal services system - Quality assurance system for providers - Examination of claims made by providers

92: Compliance with audits

You could also call this:

"Helping the auditor check your claim by sharing documents and answering questions"

Illustration for Legal Services Act 2011

You must co-operate with the auditor when they examine your claim. You have to let the auditor see all the documents that relate to your claim at reasonable times. You must answer the auditor's questions fully and promptly. You do not have to co-operate until the auditor shows you their authority from the Secretary. If you do not co-operate, the auditor will tell the Secretary and you. The Secretary can then stop paying your claim until you start co-operating. If you keep failing to co-operate, you might commit an offence under section 113. Section 109 applies to the disclosure of privileged communications in this situation.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3142930.

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Part 3Administration of legal services system
Quality assurance system for providers: Examination of claims made by providers

92Compliance with audits

  1. A provider who is subject to an examination or audit must co-operate with the auditor and, in particular, must—

  2. ensure that the auditor is given access at all reasonable times to all documents under the control of the provider that relate to the claim under examination, or to matters for which the provider has claimed or may claim payment from the Secretary (as the case may require); and
    1. use his or her best endeavours to ensure that questions relating to the claim being examined, or to any matter to which the audit relates, are answered fully, frankly, promptly, and in the form (written or oral) required by the auditor; and
      1. permit, and if necessary assist, the auditor to copy any document or to reproduce, in usable form, information recorded or stored in a document.

        1. A provider is not obliged to comply with subsection (1) until the auditor shows the provider a copy of the auditor's authority from the Secretary to conduct the examination or audit.

        2. If an auditor considers that a provider who is being examined or audited is not complying, or has not adequately complied, with subsection (1), the auditor must notify the Secretary and the provider.

        3. On receipt of a notice, the Secretary may suspend payments of any claim currently lodged with the Secretary by the provider, and the payments may remain suspended until such time as the Secretary is satisfied that the provider is co-operating with the auditor.

        4. Continuing failure to co-operate may be an offence under section 113.

        5. Section 109 applies to the disclosure of privileged communications under this section.

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