Diesel Mechanics, support staff, and Service Managers
Includes heavy equipment, heavy transport, forestry equipment, forklifts/materials handling equipment, farm machinery, road paving equipment, earthmoving/construction equipment, mining equipment, and recreational marine diesel equipment.
Updated May 2024
Employers are encouraged to communicate with our consulting team for more guidance on current wage and salary rates. Attention to specific regional areas hard hit by skills shortages or the seniority of employees should be taken into account. Automotive Employment NZ Ltd has attempted to be as accurate as possible and to provide guidelines for the most popular sectors of the New Zealand motor industry but take no responsibility for the accuracy of the information. Any hiring decision should be based on a range of knowledge from a variety of sources.
Employees should note that while these rates may provide a guide, to gain an accurate indication of rates you may need to consider how your skills and experience compare to others in the workplace. Your work performance, the stability of overall employment, knowledge of the product, development of your skills and or qualifications, personal grooming, communication skills and the length of service you have extended to your current employer may all impact on potential earnings. These aspects of your employment should also be weighed against the economic conditions prevailing in the location you work or intend to move to.
Offshore candidates should note rates and salaries are quoted in New Zealand dollars. Please also check the date above as information provided is current only to this date.
Heavy Diesel Mechanic: Road Transport (includes trucks/HCV, buses, and coaches)
National median rate for new hires – $36 per hour (note: the higher and lower scale below is based on skills, location, and experience)
Most positions in NZ pay between $36 and $42 per hour – in some areas $45 per hour plus.
Companies vary in their overtime policies with some paying a slightly lower hourly rate with overtime commonly weighted at between 1.5 of the base rates. Other employers may choose a higher flat rate of pay.
Heavy Diesel Mechanic: Earthmoving/Construction Equipment, Forestry Equipment, and Road Paving Machinery
National median rate – $38 per hour (note higher and lower range below)
Rates now commence at $36 per hour and move through to $45 per hour.
While there are large fluctuations in the equipment sector due to swings in the business cycles of forestry, mining, agriculture, and infrastructure, at the time of reviewing these rates, pressure on skills shortages is being felt industry-wide and will affect the rates dependant on region and level of skills.
Materials Handling/Forklift Mechanic: IE (industrial electric) and IC (Industrial combustion) trucks
National median rate – $36 per hour
Dependent on the level of skill and experience, these roles are paying between $35 and $40 per hour with the higher end being $42 per hour. The extreme end of this remuneration scale would normally be paid to an employee considered to be a Master Technician.
Experience on IE forklifts is a little more difficult to secure than the more generalist IC diesel/LPG skills so highly skilled technicians with this knowledge tend to be paid toward the upper end of the scale. The current average for IE forklift technicians is $36 per hour. The IC sector average is $38 per hour however this is assuming the employee possesses strong generalist knowledge.
Excessive movement between jobs or poor employer verbal references has a profound effect on rates in the current climate as does lack of polished communication skills which may prevent an employerplacing an employee in a field service role. The higher rates tend to be paid to technicians who have built a resource of knowledge within a franchise environment.
Agriculture/Farm Machinery Mechanic
National median rate – $38 per hour
Most positions in NZ pay between $35 and $42 per hour. Companies vary in their overtime policies with some paying a slightly lower hourly rate with overtime between 1.5 and 1.6 of the base rates where others choose a higher flat rate of pay.
Workshop Foreperson/Supervisor (across all sectors)
National median rate – $38 per hour
Generally defined as a role that assists the Service Manager or a second in charge, many of these roles do not require hands-on repair work. There are exceptions and some companies may have the foreperson up to 50% productive.
New hires remunerate from $36 to $45 per hour and more often than not the employee is provided with a company vehicle. It is possible some of the smaller cities and towns may pay a little less and reflects the lower cost of living expenses in these locations. Usually, a utility vehicle is supplied.
Heavy Diesel Warranty Administrator/Fleet Controller
National median income – $80,000 per annum
These roles are almost always secured by Trade Qualified Mechanics in New Zealand wanting off tools, although this is not a requirement to be trade qualified to secure the role. The position is administrative, and employees possess accomplished communication skills, IT literacy, and technical knowledge. The position usually pays between $78,000 and $85,000. The role does not usually command a company vehicle, although it is not unheard of in same cases.
Heavy Diesel Loss Adjuster
National median income – $80,000 per annum
While these roles are fairly rare in NZ, they involve investigation of insurance claims to a range of heavy diesel equipment. Candidates securing these roles are rarely brought in from offshore due to their popularity and availability of New Zealand based skills. The role pays between $75,000 and $90,000 in the current market. There will enviably be variances in rates due to the rarity of roles available.
Heavy Diesel Service Manager
National median income – $120,000 per annum
Responsible for total management of the workshop and profit centre, Service Managers are paid between $100,000 in smaller workshops and sometimes up to $150,000 in some flagship sites. The extreme end is $160,000. It is rare for employees to be at the upper end of this scale but good heavy diesel Services Managers in NZ are hard to come by.
Some companies are now “locking in" top performers by paying above the norm for their skills. Please note the upper end of the scale is usually paid to Service Managers with over 50 staff and even then, these positions are hard to find.
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