Employment Impact

The economic contribution of NZ charities as employers

Key Finding: New Zealand charities employ 374.2K people and engage 12.5K volunteers. The top 10 employers account for 65% of all charity sector employment.
Total Employees
374.2K
Across all charities
Volunteers
12.5K
Volunteer workforce
Employing Charities
10,382
With paid staff
Total Staff Costs
$8.6B
Annual remuneration
Avg Revenue/Staff
$58K
Productivity metric
Top 10 Share
65%
Of total employment

Employment by Sector

Average Staff per Charity

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Sector:
Showing 50 of 10,382 employers (the 2,897 largest by each measure can be listed)
1
Employees
101,492
2
Wellington Chinese Baptist Church
Religion • Wellington
Employees
100,152
3
Employees
9,600
4
University of AucklandB
Education • Auckland
Employees
8,818
5
University of OtagoA-
Education • Dunedin
Employees
6,400
6
Victoria University of WellingtonA-
Education • Wellington
Employees
4,908
7
PAWS 'N CLAWS TRUST BOARD
Community Development • Temuka
Employees
3,682
8
Massey UniversityA-
Education • Palmerston North
Employees
3,147
9
University Of WaikatoC-
Education • Hamilton
Employees
1,713
10
Visionwest Community TrustC-
Health • Auckland
Employees
1,694
11
Employees
1,390
12
Nurse Maude AssociationD-
Health • Christchurch
Employees
1,267
13
The Spectrum FoundationB-
Health • Auckland
Employees
1,261
14
CHT Healthcare Trust
Health • Auckland
Employees
1,255
15
Spectrum Care LimitedF
Social Services • Auckland
Employees
1,197
16
Presbyterian Support Central
Religion • Porirua
Employees
1,104
17
Royal New Zealand Plunket TrustD+
Health • Wellington
Employees
1,075
18
Presbyterian Support (Northern)C
Religion • Auckland
Employees
812
19
Pact Group D
Social Services • Dunedin
Employees
783
20
Te Oho Mana Charitable Trust
Health • Invercargill
Employees
740
21
Employees
666
22
Shine Montessori Educare
Education • Lower Hutt
Employees
645
23
Employees
637
24
Lincoln UniversityA-
Education • Lincoln
Employees
630
25
Employees
600
26
YMCA North IncorporatedC-
Health • Auckland
Employees
590
27
Community Care Trust AotearoaC-
Social Services • Dunedin
Employees
576
28
Employees
571
29
New Zealand Red Cross IncorporatedA-
International Aid • Wellington
Employees
561
30
Employees
560
31
Employees
528
32
Employees
522
33
Brackenridge Services LimitedC+
Education • Christchurch
Employees
504
34
Maatulimanu Ministry
Religion • Auckland
Employees
500
35
Kāhui Tū Kaha LtdA-
Community Development • Auckland
Employees
487
36
MASH TrustD+
Health • Palmerston North
Employees
478
37
Methodist Mission NorthernB+
Religion • Auckland
Employees
436
38
Pegasus Health (Charitable) LimitedF
Health • Christchurch
Employees
428
39
Presbyterian Support SouthlandA-
Religion • Invercargill
Employees
427
40
Te Kohao Health LimitedA
Health • Hamilton
Employees
413
41
Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau TrustC
Social Services • Auckland
Employees
392
42
Employees
379
43
Employees
371
44
Hinengakau Maatua Whangai
Health • Taumarunui
Employees
369
45
Masonic Care LimitedB+
Social Services • Lower Hutt
Employees
365
46
Employees
355
47
Ngāti Hine Limited
Health • Bay of Islands
Employees
349
48
Ngati Hine Health Trust BoardA-
Religion • Whangarei
Employees
349
49
Northcorp LimitedA-
Religion • Kawakawa
Employees
349
50
Kristin School Charitable TrustB+
Education • Auckland
Employees
340

Employment data sourced from annual returns filed with the New Zealand Charities Register. View data sources & methodology

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