A person working in Administration / Reception / Secretarial in New Zealand typically earns around 57,700 NZD per year. Salaries range from 28,900 NZD (lowest average) to 132,000 NZD (highest average, actual maximum salary is higher).
This is the average yearly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Salaries vary drastically between different Administration / Reception / Secretarial careers. If you are interested in the salary of a particular job, see below for salaries for specific job titles.
Job Title | Average Salary |
Accreditation Specialist | 114,000 NZD |
Administrative Aide | 39,200 NZD |
Administrative Analyst | 70,200 NZD |
Administrative Assistant | 48,600 NZD |
Administrative Associate | 50,700 NZD |
Administrative Manager | 77,800 NZD |
Administrative Receptionist | 44,500 NZD |
Board Secretary | 47,400 NZD |
Central Office Operator | 49,700 NZD |
Clerk | 32,300 NZD |
Commercial Administrator | 68,600 NZD |
Commissions Processor | 61,500 NZD |
Conveyancing Secretary | 41,900 NZD |
Document Controller | 40,100 NZD |
Document Management Specialist | 60,300 NZD |
Executive Assistant | 52,000 NZD |
Executive Personal Assistant | 63,800 NZD |
Executive Secretary | 50,000 NZD |
Front Desk Attendant | 47,500 NZD |
Front Desk Coordinator | 60,200 NZD |
Front Desk Manager | 74,800 NZD |
Group Services Manager | 132,000 NZD |
Head Receptionist | 56,400 NZD |
Key Account Assistant | 54,800 NZD |
Keyboard and Data Entry Operator | 31,800 NZD |
Leasing Administrator | 62,300 NZD |
Legal Secretary | 51,400 NZD |
Librarian | 60,300 NZD |
Mailroom Manager | 51,800 NZD |
Management Support Secretary | 47,700 NZD |
Master Programme Coordinator | 95,000 NZD |
Medical Receptionist | 50,300 NZD |
Meeting and Event Assistant | 55,500 NZD |
Meeting and Event Manager | 116,000 NZD |
Night Manager | 74,900 NZD |
Office Administrator | 77,500 NZD |
Office Assistant | 32,500 NZD |
Office Manager | 81,800 NZD |
Office Services Coordinator | 67,700 NZD |
Operations Analyst | 96,300 NZD |
Operations Manager | 125,000 NZD |
Personal Assistant | 50,700 NZD |
Planning Assistant | 57,000 NZD |
Process Expert | 75,900 NZD |
Program Coordinator | 71,500 NZD |
Programme Assistant | 59,000 NZD |
Project Administrator | 78,300 NZD |
Project Coordinator | 108,000 NZD |
Reception Team Lead | 59,100 NZD |
Receptionist | 48,200 NZD |
Records Officer | 41,300 NZD |
Schedule Officer | 32,300 NZD |
School Secretary | 45,800 NZD |
Secretary | 43,200 NZD |
Switchboard Operator | 41,500 NZD |
Technical Program Manager | 107,000 NZD |
Technical Project Manager | 117,000 NZD |
Typist | 37,800 NZD |
Wayleave Officer | 35,400 NZD |
Administration / Reception / Secretarial salaries in New Zealand range from 28,900 NZD per year (minimum average salary) to 132,000 NZD per year (maximum average salary, actual maximum is higher).
The median salary is 55,400 NZD per year, which means that half (50%) of people working in Administration / Reception / Secretarial are earning less than 55,400 NZD while the other half are earning more than 55,400 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 people working in Administration / Reception / Secretarial are earning less than 38,000 NZD while 75% of them are earning more than 38,000 NZD. Also from the diagram, 75% of people working in Administration / Reception / Secretarial are earning less than 89,800 NZD while 25% are earning more than 89,800 NZD.
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
The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally the more years of experience the higher the wage.
Generally speaking, employees having experience from two to five years earn on average 32% more than freshers and juniors across all industries and disciplines.
Professionals with experience of more than five years tend to earn on average 36% more than those with five years or less of work experience.
As you hit the ten years mark, the salary increases by 21% and an additional 14% for those who have crossed the 15 years mark.
Those figures are presented as guidelines only. The numbers become more significant if you consider one job title at a time.
It is well known that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We compared the salaries of professionals at the same level but with different college degrees levels across many jobs, below are our findings.
Workers with a certificate or diploma earn on average 17% more than their peers who only reached the high school level.
Employees who earned a Bachelor's Degree earn 24% more than those who only managed to attain a cerificate or diploma.
Professionals who attained a Master's Degree are awarded salaries that are 29% more than those with a Bachelor's Degree.
Finally, PhD holders earn 23% more than Master's Degree holders on average while doing the same job.
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 this tactic. The average increase in compensation while changing jobs is approximately 10% more than the customary salary increment.
The decision really depends on your situation and experience among many other factors. Putting all variables aside, if you can afford the costs of higher education then 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 employees in New Zealand who work in Administration / Reception / Secretarial earn 5% more than their female counterparts on average.
Male | 59,200 NZD | |
Female | -5% | 56,400 NZD |
Administration / Reception / Secretarial professionals in New Zealand are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 7% 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 2020. 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.
Administration / Reception / Secretarial is considered to be a low bonus-based field due to the generally limited involvement in direct revenue generation, with exceptions of course. The people who get the highest bonuses are usually somehow involved in the revenue generation cycle.
73% of surveyed staff in Administration / Reception / Secretarial reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 27% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.
Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 1% to 3% of their annual salary.
Received Bonus | 27% | |
No Bonus | 73% |
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.
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 average salary for Administration / Reception / Secretarial is 41% less than that of All Jobs.
City | Average Salary |
Auckland | 64,100 NZD |
Christchurch | 61,200 NZD |
Hamilton | 55,500 NZD |
Rotorua | 52,900 NZD |
Wellington | 59,000 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 |