Fees paid to board directors in New Zealand are about half those paid to directors in Australia, according to a survey by recruitment firm Sheffield.
In 2007 the median base fee paid to New Zealand non-executive directors was $30,000 and for board chairs $54,000 with Australian counterparts earningaround double that.
Sherry Maier, a Sheffield Reward senior consultant, said the differential in fees between Australia and New Zealand could not be explained by the cost-of-living or tax regime in each country.
"With comparable workloads and risk profiles, it seems unsustainable New Zealand should continue to under-value good governance by paying its boards at 50 per cent discounts."
She said the under-remuneration of New Zealand boards may be due to a lack of understanding of the role that a board played in company performance.
Just 20 per cent of non-executive directors and 6 per cent of board chairpeople are female.
The survey was conducted with Business New Zealand and contains information from 279 New Zealand companies. Comparative data of 300 Australian organisations was provided by Hewitt and Associates.
