A person working as Adoption Services Director in New Zealand typically earns around 130,000 NZD per year. Salaries range from 66,300 NZD (lowest) to 200,000 NZD (highest).
This is the average yearly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Adoption Services Director salaries vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.
![]() 66,300 NZD |
![]() 119,000 NZD |
![]() 200,000 NZD |
Adoption Services Director salaries in New Zealand range from 66,300 NZD per year (starting salary) to 200,000 NZD per year (maximum salary). This is not the minimum wage as per the law, only the lowest reported number in the salary survey that had thousands of participants and professionals from all over the country.
The median salary is 119,000 NZD per year, which means that half (50%) of people working as Adoption Services Director(s) are earning less than 119,000 NZD while the other half are earning more than 119,000 NZD. The median represents the middle salary value. Generally speaking, you would want to be on the right side of the graph with the group earning more than the median salary.
Closely related to the median are two values: the 25th and the 75th percentiles. Reading from the salary distribution diagram, 25% of Adoption Services Director(s) are earning less than 98,400 NZD while 75% of them are earning more than 98,400 NZD. Also from the diagram, 75% of Adoption Services Director(s) are earning less than 136,000 NZD while 25% are earning more than 136,000 NZD.
We grouped the most common and recurring salaries into brackets to give more insight into what salary to expect. This method is more accurate than just the average salary and gives more insights on how salaries are actually distributed. Around 65% of all reported figures are in the range 76,200 NZD to 105,000 NZD. Approximatly 20% fall under the 76,200 NZD cap. Ten percent of wages are from 105,000 NZD to 119,000 NZD. Only 5% of people grossed 119,000 NZD or more.
0 - 2 Years | 74,300 NZD | |
2 - 5 Years | +31% | 97,100 NZD |
5 - 10 Years | +40% | 136,000 NZD |
10 - 15 Years | +20% | 163,000 NZD |
15 - 20 Years | +9% | 177,000 NZD |
20+ Years | +8% | 191,000 NZD |
The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally the more years of experience the higher your wage. We broke down Adoption Services Director salaries by experience level and this is what we found.
Employees with less than two years of experience makes approximately 74,300 NZD per year.
While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 97,100 NZD per year, 31% more than someone with less than two year's experience.
Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 136,000 NZD per year, 40% more than someone with two to five years of experience.
Additionally, Adoption Services Director whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 163,000 NZD per year, 20% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.
If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 177,000 NZD per year, 9% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.
Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 191,000 NZD per year, 8% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.
Bachelor's Degree | 87,700 NZD | |
Master's Degree | +49% | 131,000 NZD |
PhD | +45% | 189,000 NZD |
We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We broke down Adoption Services Director salaries by education level in order to make a comparison.
When the education level is Bachelor's Degree, the average salary is 87,700 NZD per year.
While someone with a Master's Degree gets a salary of 131,000 NZD per year, 49% more than someone having a Bachelor's Degree degree.
People with PhD have an average salary of 189,000 NZD per year, 45% more than someone with a Master's Degree.
A Master's degree program or any post-graduate program in New Zealand costs anywhere from 40,500 New Zealand Dollar(s) to 122,000 New Zealand Dollar(s) and lasts approximately two years. That is quite an investment.
You can't really expect any salary increases during the study period, assuming you already have a job. In most cases, a salary review is conducted once education is completed and the degree has been attained.
Many people pursue higher education as a tactic to switch into a higher paying job. The numbers seem to support the thoery. The average increase in compensation while changing jobs is approximately 10% more than the customary salary increment.
If you can afford the costs of higher education, the return on investment is definitely worth it. You should be able to recover the costs in roughly a year or so.
Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? Male Adoption Services Director employees in New Zealand earn 5% more than their female counterparts on average.
Male | 133,000 NZD | |
Female | -5% | 127,000 NZD |
Adoption Services Director(s) in New Zealand are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 12% every 17 months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 8% granted to employees every 16 months.
The term 'Annual Salary Increase' usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rarely that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase.
The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 ÷ Increase Frequency
Banking | 2% | |
Energy | 4% | |
Information Technology | 6% | |
Healthcare | 8% | |
Travel | 1% | |
Construction | 3% | |
Education | 5% |
Listed above are the average annual increase rates for each industry in New Zealand for the year 2022. Companies within thriving industries tend to provide higher and more frequent raises. Exceptions do exist, but generally speaking, the situation of any company is closely related to the economic situation in the country or region. These figures tend to change frequently.
Not all compensation increases are reflected directly in the salary. Some companies offer upgraded packages to their staff instead of cash money. The figures displayed here account only for direct increments to the base salary.
"Adoption Services Director" is considered to be a high bonus-based job. The people who get the highest bonuses are usually somehow involved in the revenue generation cycle.
19% of surveyed staff reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 81% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.
Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 6% to 8% of their annual salary.
Received Bonus | 81% | |
No Bonus | 19% |
The most standard form of bonus where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance.
Company Performance BonusesOccasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization.
Goal-Based BonusesGranted upon achieving an important goal or milestone.
Holiday / End of Year BonusesThese types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token.
People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned.
The main two types of jobs | |
Revenue Generators | Supporting Cast |
Employees that are directly involved in generating revenue or profit for the organization. Their field of expertise usually matches the type of business. | Employees that support and facilitate the work of revenue generators. Their expertise is usually different from that of the core business operations. |
Example: | Example: |
Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation.
Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid.
Average Salary 2019 | 118,000 NZD | |
Average Salary 2020 | +2% | 121,000 NZD |
Average Salary 2021 | +3% | 124,000 NZD |
Average Salary 2022 | +2% | 126,000 NZD |
Adoption Services Director salaries in New Zealand are on the rise in the year 2023 based on recent submitted salaries and reports. As displayed in the chart, salaries in 2022 are 2% higher than those of 2021. The trend suggests a slow yet continuous increase in pay in 2024 and future years. These numbers may vary from industry to another.
The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Usually jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaried jobs pay a fix amount regardless of the hours worked. Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff.
The minimum pay rate per hour for 'Adoption Services Director' in New Zealand is 32 NZD. This is the minimum as per the gathered data in the salary survey not the minimum hourly rate mandated by law.
The average salary for Adoption Services Director is 21% more than that of Counseling. Also, Counseling salaries are 11% more than those of All Jobs.
Job Title | Average Salary |
Adoption Services Director | 130,000 NZD | ![]() |
Alcohol and Drug Counselor | 106,000 NZD | ![]() |
Assistant Instructor | 44,900 NZD | ![]() |
Career Counselor | 117,000 NZD | ![]() |
Consultant | 115,000 NZD | ![]() |
Director of Rehabilitation Services | 147,000 NZD | ![]() |
Disability Consultant | 92,200 NZD | ![]() |
Employment Counselor | 118,000 NZD | ![]() |
Family Advocate | 80,400 NZD | ![]() |
Family Services Specialist | 86,800 NZD | ![]() |
Family Support Specialist | 118,000 NZD | ![]() |
Family Youth Worker | 39,900 NZD | ![]() |
Guidance Counselor | 120,000 NZD | ![]() |
Guidance Director | 134,000 NZD | ![]() |
Mental Health Counselor | 134,000 NZD | ![]() |
Programs Coordinator | 64,200 NZD | ![]() |
Psychologist | 159,000 NZD | ![]() |
Supervising Counselor | 129,000 NZD | ![]() |
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor | 120,000 NZD | ![]() |
Youth Advocate | 66,700 NZD | ![]() |
Youth Care Counselor | 120,000 NZD | ![]() |
Youth Care Specialist | 70,900 NZD | ![]() |
Youth Development Manager | 150,000 NZD | ![]() |
City | Average Salary |
Auckland | 143,000 NZD |
Christchurch | 136,000 NZD |
Hamilton | 123,000 NZD |
Rotorua | 117,000 NZD |
Wellington | 131,000 NZD |
Where can you get paid more, working for a private company or for the government? Public sector employees in New Zealand earn 5% more than their private sector counterparts on average across all sectors.
Private Sector | 94,600 NZD | |
Public Sector | +5% | 99,600 NZD |
A good and competitive compensation would range anywhere between 119,000 NZD and 136,000 NZD. This is a very rough estimate and your experience and education will play a very huge part into your final earnings.
All salary and compensation figures displayed here are gross salary figures, that is the salary before tax deductions. Because taxes may differ across sectors and locations, it is difficult to accurately calculate the net salart after tax for every career.
The base salary for Adoption Services Director in New Zealand is ranges from 98,400 NZD to 136,000 NZD. The base salary depends on many factors including experience and education. It is not easy to provide a figure with very little information, so take this range in a grain of salt.
Both are indicators. If your salary is higher than both of the average and the median then you are doing very well. If your salary is lower than both, then many people are earning more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. How to compare your salary