Our responsibilities

The Remuneration Authority’s function is to set the remuneration for key public office holders. This may include salary, fees, certain allowances and superannuation.

The Authority sets the remuneration for the following public office holders:

Governor-General
Members of Parliament including the prime minister and ministers.
Judicial officers including judges of the senior courts, District Court, the specialist courts and coroners
Local government elected members including mayors, regional council chairpersons, councillors, community and local board members
Independent public office holders and boards where the holders of the office are required to exercise a high degree of independence.

The Authority also sets:

annuities for former Governors-General and their spouses
annuities and travel services for former Prime Ministers and their spouses
accommodation allowances and reimbursement for Members of Parliament, and travel entitlements for MPs’ families.

Legislation

The key responsibilities of the Authority are set out in the Remuneration Authority Act 1977.

Remuneration Authority Act 1977(external link)

A number of other acts further define its role in relation to specific groups and individuals:

Not set by the Authority

The following remuneration is not set by the Authority:

Remuneration for the chief executives of most public service departments, which is set by the Public Service Commissioner.
Fees for statutory and other bodies in which the Crown has an interest, which are set under the Cabinet Fees Framework, administered by Te Kawa Mataaho – Public Service Commission(external link)
Fees for the directors of crown entity companies and state-owned enterprises, which are administered through Te Tai Ōhanga – The Treasury’s Commercial Operations Group(external link)
Remuneration of chief executives in the local government sector, which is the responsibility of the local or regional authority concerned.
Remuneration for boards or trading companies established by local or regional authorities, which is the responsibility of the local or regional authority concerned.