The Ministry for Regulation is now “actively recruiting” to fill 91 roles, and believes the median and average salary bands will change and align with other agencies over time.
Year-on-year savings of $1.5 billion continue in the public sector, after confirmation of the extent of agency savings at the unveiling of Nicola Willis’ first Budget as Finance Minister.
The top-paying public sector agency was the Public Service Commission itself, with an average salary of $155,000.
The Public Service Commission said the Government set a “clear expectation” that workforce costs are to be funded from existing baselines.
“That is what is happening. What public servants in specific roles are paid is an operational matter and a decision for individual chief executives, who must work with the cloth they have been cut. That includes absorbing increases already committed to in previous collective agreements settlements,” the commission said.
The Social Investment Agency, which recently announced outgoing Police Commissioner Andrew Coster as its incoming chief executive followed at a close second in terms of highest salaries – boasting an average of $149,200.
Finishing off the top five highest average salaries behind the Ministry of Regulation was the Ministry of Defence’s $143,800 pay – and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s $139,500 average pay cheque.
“As outlined in the Public Service Commission report, the higher average salary levels reflect the organisations with a larger proportion of staff in leadership, specialist professional and policy roles,” the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet said in a statement to NZME.
Public sector pay bump
Data released by the Public Service Commission shows salaries in the public sector increased by 4.63% in the year to July. Salaries grew 7% the prior financial year, and by a smaller 3.7% in the 2021/22 financial year.
The average salary in the public sector is now $101,700, marking the first time the amount has ticked over six figures.
“Increases were higher at the lower and middle salary levels driven by the Public Service Pay Adjustment and incremental change,” the commission said in a statement.
Salary increases deemed “more modest” for senior managers with a 2.1% increase.
Chief executives at the helm of agencies’ cost-saving plans pocketed a 1.5% remuneration increase in the year to July.
Over the past five financial years, the average agency chief executive pay has increased by 3.8%.
The overall public sector workforce shrank by 3.3% in the first six months of the year, following a mass cost-saving exercise by Government agencies and departments.
A change of Government saw new, stricter spending directives in place for public sector agencies – directives that led to thousands of workers being laid off, and a reduction in usage of contractors and consultants.
In the year to June, data which overlaps the previous Government and an election cycle shows the public service workforce increased by 421 fulltime-equivalent staff.
Occupational changes show significant decreases in the amount of information professionals, clerical and admin workers, and policy analysts – all of which were roles that saw average salaries rise.
From July 2023 to July 2024, the average salary of an information professional rose from $105,000 to $111,800.
Clerical and admin workers remain on a much lower average salary – at $76,500 as at July 2024 – up 4.94% from the $72,900 average the year prior.
The data shows policy analysts as being the second-highest paid position by occupation, with managers taking the top pay.
Public sector senior managers are categorised by three tiers – tier one being agency chief executives whose pay can often reach above $600,000 per year.
The average managerial salary in Government departments and agencies, as at 30 June 2024, was $163,800 - up 5% from $156,000 the year prior. Managers saw a higher increase in average salaries than non-managerial workers.
A number of public sector agencies saw fulltime-equivalent staff headcount increase, when comparing the 2022/23 financial year to the 2023/24 financial year for the year to July; these include the Department of Corrections, Oranga Tamariki and the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).
The Public Service Commission puts Corrections’ staffing increase of 6.4% down to a funding boost for campaigns to grow front-line staff “to meet the increasing prison population”.
“Over 1,000 new corrections officers were hired in the 12 months ending 30 June 2024, which was 370 more than in the previous 12 months,” the commission said.
The IRD’s 9% boost in fulltime-equivalent staffing numbers was said to be primarily down to cost of living policy, customer-facing roles, and partially due to Budget 2024 initiatives.
Staffing increases at Ministry for Children Oranga Tamariki was down to a boost in staff at Youth Justice residences. ICT roles also increased as reliance on contractors went down following directions from the Government.
Spending directives, as part of Budget 2024, saw all public sector agencies given a savings target of 6.5% to 7.5% on average, with the exception of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade after pushback from Foreign Minister Winston Peters.
Azaria Howell is a Wellington-based multimedia reporter with an eye across the region. She joined NZME in 2022 and has a keen interest in city council decisions, public service agency reform and transport.
