Governance Fee Benchmarks
Median fees by role, iwi size comparison, and year-over-year trends
$22K
Across all iwi
$52K
Across all iwi
$471K
TNN Trustees (collective) — Ngāti Maniapoto
29
Disclosing governance fees
Fee by Role
Governance fee benchmarks grouped by normalised role.
| Role | Count | Median | Min | Max | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 32 | $149K | $7K | $458K | $136K |
| Representative | 48 | $73K | $3K | $103K | $55K |
| Chair | 51 | $52K | $1K | $133K | $57K |
| Committee Member | 4 | $44K | $5K | $174K | $67K |
| Director | 52 | $41K | $1K | $234K | $52K |
| Deputy Chair | 33 | $27K | $1K | $82K | $34K |
| Trustee | 207 | $22K | $402 | $471K | $33K |
| Alternate | 38 | $9K | $2K | $12K | $9K |
Fee by Iwi
Total board cost and per-trustee averages, correlated with asset size.
| Iwi | Total Board Cost | Trustees | Avg Fee | Chair Fee | Total Assets | Fees % Assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu | $4.9M | 90 | $54K | $133K | $2.2B | 0.22% |
| Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust | $2.7M | 58 | $46K | $90K | $1.5B | 0.18% |
| Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou | $2.3M | 70 | $33K | $118K | $310.3M | 0.75% |
| Waikato-Tainui | $1.7M | 35 | $49K | $110K | $2.4B | 0.07% |
| Te Ātiawa (Taranaki) | $1.2M | 7 | $167K | - | $154.1M | 0.76% |
| Ngāti Kuia | $793K | 4 | $198K | - | $96.8M | 0.82% |
| Ngāti Maniapoto | $745K | 3 | $248K | - | $256.0M | 0.29% |
| Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa | $669K | 18 | $37K | $60K | $158.2M | 0.42% |
| Ngāti Whare | $578K | 20 | $29K | $100K | $64.8M | 0.89% |
| Te Uri o Hau | $529K | 31 | $17K | $20K | $36.8M | 1.44% |
| Ngāti Toa Rangatira | $504K | 2 | $252K | - | $1.0B | 0.05% |
| Ngāi Tūhoe | $497K | 2 | $249K | - | $453.4M | 0.11% |
| Ngāti Ruanui | $444K | 1 | $444K | - | $77.9M | 0.57% |
| Ngāti Pāhauwera | $335K | 8 | $42K | $112K | $123.3M | 0.27% |
| Te Kāhui o Taranaki | $330K | 2 | $165K | - | $182.0M | 0.18% |
| Ngāti Whakaue | $320K | 11 | $29K | $46K | $88.6M | 0.36% |
| Te Rarawa | $317K | 21 | $15K | $95K | $109.0M | 0.29% |
| Ngāruahine | $308K | 1 | $308K | - | $120.0M | 0.26% |
| Tapuika | $275K | 6 | $46K | $65K | $28.8M | 0.96% |
| Raukawa Settlement Trust | $234K | 1 | $234K | - | $283.0M | 0.08% |
| Ngāti Mutunga (Taranaki) | $227K | 2 | $114K | - | $35.2M | 0.65% |
| Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō | $222K | 10 | $22K | $47K | $104.1M | 0.21% |
| Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui | $206K | 8 | $26K | $56K | $87.2M | 0.24% |
| Ngāti Rārua | $172K | 10 | $17K | $29K | $72.6M | 0.24% |
| Ngāti Tūwharetoa | $170K | 1 | $170K | - | $106.7M | 0.16% |
| Ngāti Ranginui | $164K | 17 | $10K | $19K | $13.4M | 1.22% |
| Te Arawa Lakes Trust | $139K | 9 | $15K | $52K | $102.4M | 0.14% |
| Ngāti Manawa | $57K | 7 | $8K | $17K | $20.5M | 0.28% |
| Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai | $51K | 10 | $5K | $5K | $6.8M | 0.75% |
Highest-Paid Trustees
Top 20 individual governance fees across all years.
Year-over-Year Trends
Iwi with two or more years of governance fee data.
| Iwi | FY | Total Board Cost | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ngāti Kuia | FY2020 | $261K | - |
| FY2022 | $214K | -18.1% | |
| FY2024 | $319K | +49.3% | |
| Ngāti Whare | FY2021 | $5K | - |
| FY2022 | $294K | +6432.3% | |
| FY2024 | $280K | -4.9% | |
| Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust | FY2019 | $401K | - |
| FY2020 | $355K | -11.6% | |
| FY2022 | $483K | +36.1% | |
| FY2023 | $487K | +0.8% | |
| FY2024 | $482K | -0.9% | |
| FY2025 | $480K | -0.5% | |
| Te Ātiawa (Taranaki) | FY2018 | $349K | - |
| FY2019 | $146K | -58.2% | |
| FY2020 | $168K | +15.0% | |
| FY2021 | $171K | +2.1% | |
| FY2022 | $168K | -2.0% | |
| FY2023 | $165K | -1.8% | |
| Te Kāhui o Taranaki | FY2020 | $168K | - |
| FY2021 | $162K | -3.6% | |
| Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu | FY2024 | $2.4M | - |
| FY2025 | $2.4M | -0.2% | |
| Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou | FY2024 | $1.1M | - |
| FY2025 | $1.2M | +7.5% | |
| Te Uri o Hau | FY2020 | $106K | - |
| FY2021 | $152K | +43.7% | |
| FY2022 | $156K | +2.7% | |
| FY2024 | $115K | -26.0% | |
| Waikato-Tainui | FY2018 | $737K | - |
| FY2019 | $988K | +34.1% |
Methodology
Governance fees vary significantly based on iwi size, asset base, meeting frequency, and governance structure. Direct comparisons should account for these factors. Data sourced from iwi annual reports where trustee remuneration is disclosed.
Data sourced from Iwi governance and financial 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.