NZX Director Remuneration Guide FY2021

Q: How much did NZX directors earn in FY2021?

The average NZX director fee in FY2021 was approximately $109,658 per year across 508 directors at 101 companies.

Q: What was the highest director fee on the NZX in FY2021?

The highest director fee recorded in FY2021 was $988,205.

Q: Do NZX directors get paid extra for committee work?

Yes, most NZX directors receive additional fees for chairing or serving on board committees such as Audit & Risk, Remuneration, and Nomination committees. Committee chair fees typically range from $10,000 to $25,000 annually.

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Insights/Director Pay/FY2021

NZX Director Pay FY2021

Board remuneration across 101 NZX-listed companies

FY2020 All Years FY2022

We analyzed remuneration data from 508 directors across 101 NZX-listed companies for financial year 2021.

$109,658

Average Fee

$90,000

Median Fee

$988,205

Highest Fee

508

Directors

Top Earning Directors (FY2021)

Highest paid board members in FY2021 — 611 fee records across 101 companies

Rank	Director	Company	Total Fee
1	Glenn Milnes	ikeGPS Group Limited (IKE)	$988,205
2	John McFarlane	Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC)	$924,351
3	Paul O'Sullivan	ANZ Group Holdings Limited (ANZ)	$806,127
4	Ross Ernest Barker

Director Pay by Sector (FY2021)

Average director fees across industries

Materials$175,906

18 fee records

Communication Services$137,053

27 fee records

Utilities$129,154

49 fee records

Financials$125,364

95 fee records

Director Fee Ranges (FY2021)

$10,500

Minimum Fee

Smaller companies, partial year

$90,000

Median Fee

Typical mid-cap company

$988,205

Maximum Fee

Large cap chair/committee roles

Key Insights — FY2021

Chair Premium

Board chairs earn approximately 50% more than regular directors on average, reflecting their leadership responsibilities.

Coverage

FY2021 covers 611 fee records across 508 directors at 101 companies.

Sector Variation

Materials pays the highest average director fees at $175,906. Real Estate pays the least at $89,302.

Research Director Pay on NZXplorer

Company Profiles: Visit any company page to see director fees in the board composition section.
Director Profiles: View individual director profiles to see remuneration across all board positions.
CEO Pay vs Returns: Check our CEO Pay vs Returns analysis to see if director pay aligns with performance.
All Years: View all annual reports to compare trends over time.

Data sourced from NZX company annual reports. Last updated: 21 April 2026.

Related Insights

Compensation Benchmarks

Board fee and executive pay percentiles by sector and market cap

Chair Remuneration Benchmarking

Chair premium vs NED fees by sector, market cap, and gender. Per-company outlier detection. First chair pay analysis in NZ.

Board Fee Trends: Above & Below Average

Which NZX companies consistently pay above or below market rates for director fees over time?

Data sourced from publicly available records. 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@nzxplorer.co.nz. For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.