This study explores the trends in public accountability of New Zealand universities. It applies the Public Accountability Index (PAI) developed by Coy and Dixon (2004) to eight New Zealand universities’ annual reports from years 2000 to 2012 to assess the development of public accountability in this public sector. Coy and Dixon (2004) applied the PAI to New Zealand universities for the period 1985-2000. This study extends their study to explore the changes of accountability practices in New Zealand universities over the last 12 years. It finds that the information disclosed in annual reports of universities has changed over the years in terms of format, content, and length. However, the overall public accountability disclosures have not significantly changed for the period 2000 to 2012 compared to the previous study of 1985-2000. The study concludes that the changes of accountability practices is somewhat motivated by the legislative changes.