Executive Compensation Benchmarks
Sector percentile rankings from 3,062 executive records across 433 charities
Median Compensation
$47K
2025 data
25th Percentile
$11K
Lower quartile
75th Percentile
$429K
Upper quartile
Sample Size
673
executives in 2025
By ICNPO Sector
International$1.3M
4
Social Services$163K
45
Religion$144K
21
Culture and Recreation$88K
36
Education and Research$76K
110
Health$40K
337
Other$36K
56
Development and Housing$23K
25
Philanthropic Intermediaries and Voluntarism Promotion$17K
17
Environment$15K
21
Bar shows P25–P75 range. Line marks median. Number = sample size.
By Charity Revenue Size
Under $1M$30K
31
$1M – $10M$76K
226
$10M – $50M$38K
349
Over $50M$204K
67
Classified by most recent annual revenue. Larger charities pay more.
By Executive Role
Executive Leadership Team
$2.0M
6 records · Mean $1.7M
Trustees/Directors and General Managers
$1.8M
2 records · Mean $1.8M
Chief Executive and Leadership Team
$1.7M
2 records · Mean $1.7M
Senior Management Team (10 FTE)
$1.6M
2 records · Mean $1.6M
Board of Trustees, Board of Directors, Funding & Finance Manager, Development Director, General Manager of operations, Chief Executive Officer
$1.3M
2 records · Mean $1.3M
Senior Executive Officer
$1.2M
2 records · Mean $1.2M
Board Members, Company Directors and Executive Management
$1.2M
2 records · Mean $1.2M
Executive Management (CEO, Deputy CEO, Registrar, Deputy Registrar, CFO, Chief Adviser, Manager - Strategy and Policy, Health Manager, Kaitiaki Mana Māori)
$1.2M
2 records · Mean $1.2M
Members of the Governing Body
$1.1M
3 records · Mean $797K
Board of Trustees and Senior Leadership Team
$1.1M
2 records · Mean $1.1M
Key Management Personnel
$986K
40 records · Mean $976K
Senior Leadership Team
$971K
4 records · Mean $1.1M
Leadership Team
$917K
3 records · Mean $978K
Senior Management
$874K
18 records · Mean $1.0M
Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Chief Technical Officer
$866K
2 records · Mean $866K
Executive Board and National Committee Members
$858K
2 records · Mean $858K
Senior Managers
$854K
2 records · Mean $854K
Chief Executive and Strategic Leadership Team
$831K
2 records · Mean $831K
Senior Leadership Team (CE and 3 senior managers)
$809K
2 records · Mean $809K
Executive Management
$806K
2 records · Mean $806K
Board of Directors and Senior Management Team
$761K
2 records · Mean $761K
Leadership team (CEO and General Managers)
$727K
2 records · Mean $727K
Senior executive officers and other operating officers
$713K
2 records · Mean $713K
Senior Management Team
$688K
5 records · Mean $864K
Senior Executive Officers and Chief Operating Officers
$622K
2 records · Mean $622K
Directors and Senior Management Group
$574K
2 records · Mean $574K
Senior Executive Officers
$530K
11 records · Mean $555K
KMP (Chief Executive, Chief Financial Officer, Head of Finance & Administration, Manager Housing Strategy and Programmes, Restore Managers, Assistant Manager, Café Manager)
$519K
2 records · Mean $519K
Management Team
$501K
4 records · Mean $610K
Senior Management (General Manager and Clinical Nurse Managers)
$431K
2 records · Mean $431K
General Manager Operations, General Manager Professional Services, HR Manager
$404K
2 records · Mean $404K
Five Directors and one Chief Operating Officer
$360K
2 records · Mean $360K
CEO
$319K
4 records · Mean $472K
Executive employees
$319K
2 records · Mean $319K
Chief Executive Officer and General Manager
$316K
2 records · Mean $316K
Directors and General Manager
$308K
3 records · Mean $308K
Management
$288K
4 records · Mean $322K
Committee and Board Members
$280K
2 records · Mean $280K
Board & Committee Fees (15 members)
$280K
2 records · Mean $280K
Chief Executive and Trustees
$265K
2 records · Mean $265K
Chief Executive
$257K
7 records · Mean $265K
Senior Executive Officer / Chief Operating Officer
$241K
2 records · Mean $241K
General Manager
$180K
2 records · Mean $180K
Chief Executive/Director of Research and Chief Operating Officer
$175K
2 records · Mean $175K
National Board Members
$163K
3 records · Mean $163K
Chief Executive Officer
$158K
2 records · Mean $158K
Board/Trustee Members
$140K
4 records · Mean $123K
Members of Board
$124K
2 records · Mean $124K
Related Party Payments - Family Members (2 people)
$110K
2 records · Mean $110K
Trustees
$104K
3 records · Mean $120K
Close Members of Family of KMP
$103K
2 records · Mean $103K
Board of Directors
$80K
2 records · Mean $80K
Directors
$77K
9 records · Mean $59K
Trustee/Board Member
$72K
4 records · Mean $75K
Board Chair
$45K
2 records · Mean $45K
Board Members
$39K
8 records · Mean $45K
Chairperson
$37K
13 records · Mean $34K
Executive Chair
$32K
3 records · Mean $69K
Independent Director
$28K
2 records · Mean $28K
Deputy Chairperson
$26K
5 records · Mean $24K
Te Akoranga a Māui Representative
$24K
2 records · Mean $24K
Elected Board Member
$23K
6 records · Mean $26K
Elected Board member
$19K
2 records · Mean $19K
Director
$18K
48 records · Mean $35K
Board Member
$17K
54 records · Mean $24K
Trustee
$15K
134 records · Mean $50K
Director / Chair
$15K
3 records · Mean $28K
Council Member
$14K
28 records · Mean $38K
Board Member (Retired)
$13K
2 records · Mean $13K
Co-Chair
$10K
2 records · Mean $10K
Ex Officio Board Associate
$7K
2 records · Mean $7K
Koeke Advisor
$6K
2 records · Mean $6K
Chair
$5K
7 records · Mean $17K
Chair (previous)
$5K
2 records · Mean $5K
Trustee / Nursing Supervisor
$5K
2 records · Mean $5K
Crown Appointee
$5K
4 records · Mean $7K
Iwi Appointee
$2K
8 records · Mean $2K
Board of Trustees, Chief Executive and Regional Managers
$1K
2 records · Mean $1K
Maori Appointed Alternate
$1K
3 records · Mean $2K
Chair of Education Committee
$81
2 records · Mean $81
Board/Trustees
$41
2 records · Mean $41
Governing Council Member
$14
8 records · Mean $13
Compensation Trend
| Year | Median | Mean | Records | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $13,080 | $43,871 | 158 | — |
| 2022 | $13,080 | $54,043 | 196 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | $20,000 | $164,059 | 308 | +52.9% |
| 2024 | $30,000 | $283,150 | 764 | +50.0% |
| 2025 | $47,000 | $314,998 | 673 | +56.7% |
Highest-Paid Executives (2025)
| # | Name | Role | Charity | Total Pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Key Management Personnel (aggregate) | Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team | Site Safe New Zealand Incorporated | $2,980,475 |
| 2 | Senior Management (aggregate) | Senior Management | Maori Television Services | $2,450,000 |
| 3 | Senior Management (aggregate) | Senior Management | Maori Television Services | $2,450,000 |
| 4 | Key Management Personnel (aggregate) | Key Management Personnel | CCS Disability Action Incorporated | $2,420,747 |
| 5 | Key Management Personnel (aggregate) | Executive Leadership Team | OSPRI New Zealand Limited | $2,322,000 |
| 6 | Key Management Personnel (aggregate) | Executive Leadership Team | OSPRI New Zealand Limited | $2,322,000 |
| 7 | Key Management Personnel (aggregate) | Key Management Personnel | CHT Healthcare Trust | $1,972,000 |
| 8 | Key Management Personnel (aggregate) | Executive Leadership Team | New Zealand Red Cross Incorporated | $1,953,352 |
| 9 | Key Management Personnel (aggregate) | Executive Leadership Team | New Zealand Red Cross Incorporated | $1,953,352 |
| 10 | Key Management Personnel (aggregate) | Senior Management | Puniu River Care Incorporated | $1,944,069 |
CEO Pay vs Charity Revenue
60 CEOs with known charity revenue. Indicates whether compensation scales with organisation size.
Methodology
Compensation data is extracted from charity annual reports and financial returns filed with the NZ Charities Register. Total compensation includes base salary, bonuses, and other benefits where disclosed.
Sector classification uses the International Classification of Nonprofit Organizations (ICNPO) as assigned by the Charities Register.
Size bands are based on the charity's most recent annual total revenue: Small (<$1M), Medium ($1M–$10M), Large ($10M–$50M), Very Large (>$50M).
Pay-to-Revenue ratio shows executive compensation as a percentage of total charity revenue. A ratio above 5% is highlighted as notable — this is not inherently concerning but may warrant review for smaller charities.
Data covers 3,062 executive records across 433 charities. Not all charities disclose individual executive compensation.
Data sourced from Charities Services register and annual returns. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. If you believe any data on this page is incorrect, please contact us at hello@charitydata.co.nz. For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.
Data as at 1 Oct 2026 · refreshed weekly from the Charities Register data we hold