Not-for-Profit Governance and Performance Study 2025

The AICD’s Not-for-Profit Governance and Performance Study 2023-24 has revealed increasing demands and higher expectations has NFP directors at a tipping point.

Over recent years, directors have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, financial sustainability pressures, workforce shortages, impact of Royal Commissions, and increased regulatory requirements. In contrast, this year’s study indicates a sense of stability with governance practices strengthening and directors adapting to ongoing challenges, including cyber security threats and the evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI).

Key findings of this edition of the NFP study include:

• 81 per cent of directors believe their organisation’s governance has improved over the past three years.
• 84 per cent of directors rated their organisation as highly effective in achieving its purpose, though many rely on CEO reports as the primary measurement.
• Director remuneration continues to rise, with 24 per cent of directors now receiving payment, up from 21 per cent last year and 13 per cent in 2015.
• Climate governance is an increasing focus, with 65 per cent of directors stating boards need to improve their oversight of climate-related risks.
• Cyber security remains a significant issue, with 19 per cent of organisations experiencing a cyber incident in the past year.
• AI adoption in the sector is still developing, with 75 per cent of directors recognising its potential for productivity improvements.
• Financial performance shows mixed results: 46 per cent of organisations recorded a profit, 26 per cent made a loss, and 28 per cent broke even.
• Merger activity is slowly increasing, with five per cent currently undertaking a merger and 17 per cent considering discussions within the next year.
• Workforce planning, staff shortages, and board succession planning remain key concerns for directors.

Download the study here

Download the media release here.

Now in its third year, the interactive dashboard allows users to delve into more detail of this research. Data from the survey can be filtered according to geographical region, sub-sector, and other variables such as profit to enable even greater insights on how the sector is performing.

Click here to view the interactive dashboard