About Us

The New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit (NZUAAU) was established in 1993 by the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee to carry out audits of the processes in universities which underpin academic quality.

The NZUAAU governing Board is appointed by Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara (formerly the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee). The Audit Unit itself is operationally independent of Universities New Zealand.

The Mission and Terms of Reference of NZUAAU encompass both academic quality assurance and academic quality enhancement, including the dissemination of good practice.

NZUAAU is a full member of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education, INQAAHE and follows its guidelines in quality assurance conduct.

Academic audits are carried out by panels of auditors appointed from NZUAAU’s Register of Auditors. Each panel includes an overseas external member who is usually selected from the Register of Australian Auditors, now the responsibility of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency.

To learn more about the role and activities of the NZUAAU, have a look at this short Overview of the New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit (updated December 2011) or read our Frequently Asked Questions (and answers).

NZUAAU has itself been externally reviewed, in 1997, 2001 and 2009.