The report found the largest fee movement was for trustees (up 13.8%), followed by advisory board members (up 11.1%), albeit both off the back of the lowest base rates respectively.
By industry, mining saw the largest fee rise for directors at 13.1%. The smallest rise was in professional scientific and technical services at 1.8%.
Dr Michael Fraser, IoD’s general manager of learning and engagement, said pressure on fees and increasing demands on time are familiar territory for directors.
“There is certainly a feeling in the governance community that organisations need more support from their boards than in the past,” he said.
“Economic uncertainty, global volatility, regulatory complexity and increasing expectations from shareholders and stakeholders make the current operating environment extremely challenging.”
Fraser said while the idea that we are in a “permacrisis” is “perhaps overused”, the sustained increase in hours over the past few years was exactly what they saw during Covid-19.
“I suspect that board input is increasingly being sought by management to help smooth out short-term issues – they are not just the guardians of long-term strategy anymore.”
He pointed to the 2015 edition of the Directors’ Fee Report in highlighting how quickly the governance community has changed.
“This idea of a ‘permacrisis’ presents a challenge to the traditional idea, widespread in 2015, that governance is something the board does at regular meetings – while management runs the business. Boards are finding they need to review strategies more frequently in response to real-time data and ongoing disruption.
“We are seeing New Zealand boards lean into these challenges and accept they need to spend more time on their roles. This will remain vital if New Zealand organisations – from not-for-profits to publicly listed companies – are to thrive into the future.”
EY New Zealand partner – reward Una Diver said this year’s survey saw an increase in the number of respondents at the lower end of the fee scale, which impacted the data.
“But the trend over the past few years has been for little change in director fees,” she said.
“It is also important to note not all governance roles are paid. For example, 60.6% of trustees are unpaid, and one in five (20.7%) of all respondents were in a pro bono role in 2024.”
Gender gap opens up
Female respondents were more likely to be in a lower-paid role, the report found.
The female median fee for non-executive directors in 2024 was $45,000, 10% less than the male median ($50,000).
That gap had grown compared with 2023, when women earned 7.1% less than men at the median.
Diver said females tended to serve on the boards of smaller organisations.
“It is disappointing to see the gender pay gap grow in our flagship statistic,” she said.
A record 1148 IoD respondents took part in the survey across 1752 organisations and 4077 directorships.
BREAKDOWN OF DIRECTOR FEES:
Non-executive chair (727 directors)
Median annual fees: $70,000
Average annual fees: $81,981
Highest median annual fees: Electricity, gas, water and waste ($93,000)
Lowest median annual fees: Education and training ($40,000)
Non-executive deputy chair (129 directors)
Median annual fees: $43,574
Average annual fees: $54,394
Highest median annual fees*: Transport, postal and warehousing ($79,000)
Lowest median annual fees*: Property and real estate services ($26,408)
*Not all participating industries were calculated due to small sample size.
Non-executive director (2499 directors)
Median annual fees: $50,000
Average annual fees: $58,071
Highest median annual fees: Retail trade ($71,250)
Lowest median annual fees: Education and training ($21,600)
Executive chair (80 directors)
Median annual fees: $50,000
Average annual fees: $60,528
Highest median annual fees*: Transport, postal and warehousing ($145,000)
Lowest median annual fees*: Health care and social assistance ($26,500)
*Not all participating industries were calculated due to small sample size.
Executive director (225 directors)
Median annual fees: $40,000
Average annual fees: $53,889
Highest median annual fees*: Transport, postal and warehousing ($85,500)
Lowest median annual fees*: Electricity, gas, water and waste ($12,000)
*Not all participating industries were calculated due to small sample size.
Chair of trust (41 directors)
Median annual fees: $28,750
Average annual fees: $30,569
Trustee (228 directors)
Median annual fees: $14,912
Average annual fees: $17,895
Highest median annual fees*: Arts and recreation services ($18,000); education and training ($18,000); and professional, scientific, and technical ($18,000)
Lowest median annual fees*: Agriculture, forestry and fishing ($11,365)
*Not all participating industries were calculated due to small sample size.
Chair of advisory board (29 directors)
Median annual fees: $35,000
Average annual fees: $32,526
Advisory board member (87 directors)
Median annual fees: $20,000
Average annual fees: $25,995
Executive committee/council member (26 directors)
Median annual fees: $30,000
Average annual fees: $36,327
Cameron Smith is an Auckland-based journalist with the Herald business team. He joined the Herald in 2015 and has covered business and sports. He reports on topics including retail, small business, the workplace and macroeconomics.
