Reserve Bank's annual report reveals former Governor Adrian Orr will receive over $1 million for his last year in the job

Adrian Orr's set to get a 'restraint of trade' payout in excess of $400,000 this month, following his abrupt departure as Governor of the Reserve Bank (RBNZ) in March.

The payment, for $416,120, is disclosed in the latest RBNZ annual report.

On page 42 of the report, it is noted that: "As at 30 June 2025, the Bank has provided for a restraint of trade payment to the Governor. The payment is due in October 2025, conditional on the terms being met. Under s 242 of the RBNZ Act, it is disclosed separately from the Governor’s remuneration."

On the same page it is also disclosed that during the financial year to June 30, Orr received $766,180, meaning the with the restraint of trade payment added on, his total payments made or payable are $1,182,300.

In the original announcements on March 5 about Orr's departure, the RBNZ had indicated Orr's resignation was “just a personal decision” he had made, and there weren’t any policy, conduct, or performance issues driving it.

However, further details were released in June in response to Official Information Act requests that gave a rather different picture.

Then in late August the RBNZ - after a request from the Chief Ombudsman - finally released a timeline of events leading up to, what it became clear was a negotiated resignation.

Then the following day RBNZ chairman Neil Quigley resigned.

In a carefully sanitised version of events from earlier in the year, RBNZ deputy chair Rodger Finlay said in the annual report that the past year "has seen wide-ranging change for the Reserve Bank".

"In particular, we have marked the departure of Adrian Orr as the Governor of the Reserve Bank in March 2025, and the resignation of Neil Quigley as Board Chair in August 2025. I would like to thank them both for their enduring contributions to the Reserve Bank and their leadership through a period of change, modernisation and significant legislative and institutional reforms..."

Finlay referred to the new $750 million operating expenditure and $25.6 million capital expenditure five-year funding agreement with the Finance Minister.

"The new Funding Agreement reflects the fiscally constrained environment with a significantly reduced budget for operating expenses. Since then, the Board has worked with the Reserve Bank’s leadership team to redesign our ways of working and optimise our resources, while continuing to deliver on our mandate. We have looked closely at our operational and capital expenditure, as well as our spend on personnel. The Board acknowledges the significant pressures and demands the organisational change process has placed on staff."

The latest report reveals that staffing levels were still increasing at the RBNZ during the year to June 30. It shows (page 51) that the central bank had 625.1 fulltime equivalents (FTEs), up from 601.3 in 2024. In the year to June 30, 2021 there were 411 FTEs.

In the notes to the financial part of the report (page 167), it is stated that the Executive Leadership Team (which includes the Governor and other senior members of the team) reduced from 10 members to five "as part of Phase 1 of a wider Bank restructure that commenced in April 2025".

Remuneration for the Executive Leadership Team includes salaries, superannuation contributions, short-term benefits and other payments. All remuneration received by the Governor is included in the Executive Leadership Team remuneration.

The note states that in addition to the $5.022 million payments made to the Executive Leadership Team, during the year, "redundancy and termination related payments were paid or are payable to six Executive Leadership Team members at a cost of $1.6 million".