Victoria University of Wellington — Education Charity in Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington is a Other charity in the Education sector, based in Wellington, Wellington. CharityData rates this charity A- (87.3/100). Annual revenue: $582.1M NZD. Financial data as at December 2025.
Mission: The primary purpose is to provide tertiary education services. This includes advancing knowledge by teaching and research and offering courses leading to a range of degrees, diplomas and certificates. It also makes research available to the wider community for mutual benefit, and provides research and scholarships for the purpose of informing the teaching of courses.
- Registration Number
- CC47181
- Charity Type
- Other
- Registration Date
- 2011-08-23
- Status
- Active
- CharityData Rating
- A- (87.3/100)
- Sector
- Education
- Location
- Wellington, Wellington
- Jackie.Anderson@vuw.ac.nz
- Data as at
- December 2025
Beneficiaries: General public
Financial Summary
- Total Revenue
- $582.1M NZD
- Total Expenses
- $572.7M NZD
- Total Assets
- $1468.3M NZD
- Net Assets
- $1193.2M NZD
- Reserve Months
- 1.4 months of operating expenses
- Staff Count
- 4908
- Financial Year End
- 2025-12-31
Financial History
| Year | Revenue | Expenses | Net Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $582.1M | $572.7M | $1193.2M |
| 2024 | $554.3M | $541.1M | $1156.8M |
| 2023 | $576.7M | $545.8M | $1145.1M |
| 2022 | $491.8M | $517.0M | $1160.0M |
| 2021 | $525.5M | $493.8M | $1014.5M |
| 2020 | $497.4M | $500.7M | $892.1M |
| 2019 | $518.9M | $501.9M | $896.8M |
| 2018 | $490.4M | $475.4M | $807.9M |
| 2017 | $455.8M | $442.4M | $794.5M |
| 2016 | $420.5M | $406.4M | $701.6M |
CharityData Rating
- Overall Grade
- A-
- Overall Score
- 87.3/100
- Financial Score
- 92.5
- Governance Score
- 75
- Transparency Score
- 85
Board Members and Officers
Current Officers (3)
| Name | Role | Appointed |
|---|---|---|
| Mei Johnson | Council Member | 2025-11-01 |
| Megan Evans | Council Member | 2025-11-01 |
| Asifa Hanif | Council Member | 2025-01-01 |
Former Officers (53)
- David Smol — Council Member
- William Bell-Purchas — Council Member
- Nicolas Smith — Vice Chancellor
- Pania Gray — Council Member
- Kelly Mitchell — Council Member (departed 2024-12-31)
- Professor Richard Arnold — Councilor
- Jennifer Windsor — Acting Vice Chancellor (departed 2023-01-16)
- Jaistone Finau — Council Member (departed 2023-12-31)
- David McLean — Council Member
- Mayan Street — Council Member (departed 2025-10-31)
- James Te Puni — Council Member
- Dianne McCarthy — Council Member (departed 2022-08-09)
- Cath Nesus — Council Member (departed 2024-06-18)
- Hugo Lawrence — Council Member (departed 2020-12-31)
- Rhianna Morar — Council Member (departed 2021-12-31)
- Brigitte Bönisch-Brednich — Council Member
- John Allen — Council Member (departed 2025-03-31)
- Isabella Lenihan-Ikin — Council Member (departed 2019-12-31)
- Alan Judge — Chair
- Leslie Montgomery — Chief Financial Officer (departed 2023-12-20)
Disclosed Pay and Fees
| Name | Role | Role type | Compensation | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Te Hiwa (aggregate) | Senior Leadership Team | Group total | $4,172,000 | 2024 |
| Te Hiwa (aggregate) | Senior Leadership Team | Group total | $4,172,000 | - |
| Te Hiwa (aggregate) | Senior Leadership Team | Group total | $4,172,000 | 2023 |
| Council Members (aggregate) | Board/Council Members | Group total | $245,000 | 2024 |
| Council Members (aggregate) | Board/Council Members | Group total | $245,000 | 2023 |
| Council Members (aggregate) | Board/Council Members | Group total | $245,000 | - |
| John Allen | Chancellor | Role not classified | $40,000 | 2023 |
| Hon. Maryan Street | Pro-Chancellor | Role not classified | $25,000 | 2023 |
| Alan Judge | Council Member | Board or trustee role | $20,000 | 2023 |
| Kelly Mitchell | Council Member | Board or trustee role | $20,000 | 2023 |
| David McLean | Council Member | Board or trustee role | $20,000 | 2023 |
| James Te Puni | Council Member | Board or trustee role | $20,000 | 2023 |
| Pania Gray | Council Member | Board or trustee role | $20,000 | 2023 |
| Cath Nesus | Council Member | Board or trustee role | $20,000 | 2023 |
| Richard Arnold | Council Member | Board or trustee role | $20,000 | 2023 |
| Jaistone Finau | Council Member | Board or trustee role | $20,000 | 2023 |
| Brigitte Bönisch-Brednich | Council Member | Board or trustee role | $20,000 | 2023 |
| Dame Therese Walsh | Council Member | Board or trustee role | - | 2019 |
| Professor Rawinia Higgins | Senior Leadership Team Member | Group total | - | 2019 |
| Unknown Vice-Chancellor | Vice-Chancellor | Executive role | - | 2021 |
| Not named | Vice-Chancellor | Executive role | - | 2021 |
| Vice-Chancellor | Vice-Chancellor | Executive role | - | 2022 |
| Professor Grant Guilford | Vice-Chancellor | Executive role | - | 2020 |
| Not specified in report | Vice-Chancellor | Executive role | - | 2022 |
| Professor Grant Guilford | Vice-Chancellor | Executive role | - | 2019 |
| Professor Nic Smith | Vice-Chancellor | Executive role | - | 2023 |
| Not disclosed | Vice-Chancellor | Executive role | - | 2022 |
| Professor David Harper | Senior Leadership Team Member | Group total | - | 2019 |
| Farib Sos | Council Member | Board or trustee role | - | 2019 |
| Annemarie de Castro | Senior Leadership Team Member | Group total | - | 2019 |
| Chancellor | Chancellor | Role not classified | - | 2021 |
| Unknown Chancellor | Chancellor | Role not classified | - | 2021 |
| Not disclosed individually | Council Member | Board or trustee role | - | 2022 |
| Professor Mark Hickford | Senior Leadership Team Member | Group total | - | 2019 |
| Unknown | Vice-Chancellor | Executive role | - | 2022 |
| Neil Paviour-Smith | Chancellor | Role not classified | - | 2019 |
| Neil Paviour-Smith | Chancellor | Role not classified | - | 2020 |
| Caroline Ward | Secretary to Council | Role not classified | - | 2023 |
| Vice-Chancellor | Vice-Chancellor | Executive role | - | 2021 |
Major Funders and Contracts (FY2020)
As disclosed in Victoria University of Wellington's annual report.
- Tertiary Education Commission – Te Amorangi Mātauranga Matua — $35,236 (7.2% of revenue) — Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) funding
- Government of New Zealand — $35,236 (7.2% of revenue) — Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) funding
Service Providers
- EY
- Bank of New Zealand
Similar Charities in Education
- South Pacific College Of Natural Medicine Inc — Education
- Crossways Community Creche Incorporated — Education
- Christchurch Rudolf Steiner School Trust — Education
- Sathya Sai Preschool Rongomai — Education
- Ashburton Kindergarten Association Incorporated — Education
Victoria University of Wellington
Financial data as at December 2025. Sourced from Charities Services register.
Reasons to look carefully (1)
These structural observations are drawn from public data and are worth considering before a donation. They are not allegations of wrongdoing, and they don’t affect the charity’s letter grade.
- Same audit firm for many yearsSame audit firm (Ernst & Young) for 10 consecutive years — best practice rotates audit firms periodically to refresh independent oversight
Each signal is a data-driven observation, not a judgement. They fire automatically from the figures filed with Charities Services. A charity can address any of these by filing fuller disclosure or updating its officer register. Methodology: /about/methodology/concern-signals.
$582.1M
$572.7M
$1.5B
4,908
Financial data from Charities Services annual return (FY2025). Ratings calculated using CharityData v3.1.1 methodology.
About
The primary purpose is to provide tertiary education services. This includes advancing knowledge by teaching and research and offering courses leading to a range of degrees, diplomas and certificates. It also makes research available to the wider community for mutual benefit, and provides research and scholarships for the purpose of informing the teaching of courses.
Who We Serve
Key Statistics
Financial Trends
Financial Trends (14 Years)
Revenue Breakdown
Expense Breakdown
API DataBased on annual return data. Detailed program/admin breakdown not available.
Financial Health Dashboard
Based on latest annual return data. Metrics are calculated from reported financial data and may not reflect the full picture. View methodology
Revenue Diversification
HHI (Herfindahl–Hirschman Index) measures concentration across 6 income categories. Lower HHI = more diversified. Score above 60 indicates healthy diversification.
Peer Comparison
Ranked against 500 peers · Education (all sizes)
Top Peers in Group
Peers are charities in the same sector and revenue size band. Rankings are based on the latest available data.
Rating History
Rating
A-Is this your charity?
Claim your profile to view analytics, submit corrections, and improve your rating.
Claim This ProfileLatest Audit
FY2025Contact Details
Registration
Sector & Activities
Data sourced from Charities Services register and publicly available annual returns. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. Scores are calculated using disclosed methodology and are analytical tools, not investment ratings or recommendations. 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.
Similar Charities in Education
Other Education charities ranked by overall score
Common questions
Questions people searching for Victoria University of Wellington commonly ask — and whether the data on this page answers them.
What items should I not donate to charity?▾
What is the largest donation ever made to a university?▾
Where to donate clothes in Wellington?▾
What is the best thing to donate to a school?▾
Who is the vice-chancellor of Victoria University of Wellington?▾
Who is the head of Victoria University?▾
Is Victoria University of Wellington prestigious?▾
Is Victoria University privately owned?▾
Is Victoria University of Wellington accredited?▾
Is Victoria University of Wellington a good University?▾
Questions sourced from Google "People also ask" for this entity. Answers are search snippets — check linked sources and the rest of this page for verified data.