Research Reveals Market Pay Practices In The Arts Sector

Creative New Zealand has published a summary of research it commissioned into market pay practices in the arts sector in New Zealand in the 12 months to August 2024.

The research was done by Strategic Pay and represents 65 arts sector organisations and 2,129 individuals: 233 contractors and 1,896 employees. The policy and practices questionnaire got responses from 44 organisations.

“This information is valuable for any arts sector organisation that wants to make informed decisions about remuneration and employment conditions, it also helps us monitor trends over time” Elizabeth Beale, Co-Manager Policy & Performance says.

Headline findings on policy and practices include:

• Forty-two percent of organisations vary salary increases according to performance.
• The median value allocated to artists’ career development in the past year is $6,500.
• More than half (55%) of respondent organisations have a policy of actively promoting diversity.

“Building a sustainable career and maintaining a business in the arts is challenging, so the more we can find out and share about pay and employment practices across the sector, the better,” Elizabeth says.

The research is in two parts. Information gathered from individuals generates benchmarks for remuneration and employee benefits across 55 roles. The summary includes data on 6 of those roles: performing artist, designer, visual artist, chief executive, programme officer, technician.

The policy and practices questionnaire is comprehensive, with data on: employee agreements, salary review, actual and forecast salary increases, skill and career development of the artists, internship, volunteers, KiwiSaver, leave entitlements, employee turnover, recruitment, attraction and retention strategies, work/life balance and health and safety. The summary includes headline results from the findings.

“Organisations that took part in the research get access to the full report to acknowledge their participation, so we encourage organisations to be involved,” Elizabeth says.

Read the Summary of Bespoke Remuneration (Arts Sector) on the Creative New Zealand website: https://creativenz.govt.nz/development-and-resources/research-and-reports/summary-of-bespoke-remuneration

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