NAB CEO Salary and Bonuses: Andrew Irvine's FY2025 Executive Remuneration

How much does NAB pay its CEO and senior executives? The headline number depends on whether you mean guaranteed fixed remuneration, incentives awarded for the year or older share awards that vested during that year.

According to National Australia Bank's FY2025 Annual Report, CEO Andrew Irvine had $2.5 million in annual fixed remuneration, earned an annual variable reward of $1.725 million, and recorded approximately $7.57 million in realised remuneration under NAB's voluntary reporting measure.

The distinction is particularly important for banks, where risk, conduct and regulatory expectations influence both incentive design and when executives may receive their equity awards.

Reporting-period note: As at 29 October 2026, NAB's latest available annual report is FY2025, for the year ended 30 September 2025. Its FY2026 reporting year has just ended, but the FY2026 annual report was not yet available at the time of this article. This is therefore a FY2025 analysis, not a claim about the FY2026 outcome.

Who counts as NAB's KMP?

NAB identifies its key management personnel as non-executive directors, the Group CEO and Group Executives with authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the Group.

In FY2025, the executive KMP population included Group CEO Andrew Irvine and Group Executives responsible for important business and functional portfolios. Changes during the year included permanent, acting, entering and departing executives; consequently, not every statutory remuneration number represents a full twelve months in an unchanged role.

Board non-executive directors are disclosed separately, with fees and superannuation rather than participation in management incentive plans.

NAB CEO remuneration FY2025: the three numbers to understand

Source: NAB 2025 Annual Report, Remuneration Report, Sections 4.2 and 4.6.

The CEO's annual variable reward outcome was 92% of target and 69% of maximum. This means the incentive was neither a guaranteed contractual payment nor the full maximum opportunity.

How much of the CEO's bonus was paid in cash?

The annual variable reward awarded for FY2025 was $1,725,000. NAB's disclosed split was:

The cash payment is 60%, and the deferred rights represent 40% of the FY2025 annual award. This distinction matters because the equity component is not the same as cash immediately available to the executive.

The variable reward framework also includes pre-grant performance and risk considerations. NAB operates within APRA's remuneration prudential requirements, which influence deferral, risk adjustments and governance arrangements. For background, see NAB's official remuneration regulatory disclosures.

Why was NAB CEO realised remuneration around $7.57 million?

The CEO's FY2025 realised remuneration comprised several components earned in different periods:

The difference between the $1.725 million annual variable award and the $7.57 million realised total is therefore not an exceptionally large current-year cash bonus. Most of the increase reflects long-term incentive rights and deferred awards granted in earlier years and vesting in FY2025.

The voluntary realised remuneration table is different from the statutory remuneration table prepared in accordance with accounting standards, which recognises share-based awards over relevant periods. For statutory figures, use Section 6.1 of the FY2025 report, rather than substituting the realised total.

What about the other NAB executives?

NAB's annual variable reward outcomes varied among executives, reflecting different scorecards and responsibilities.

These are FY2025 annual variable awards, not annual fixed salaries or statutory remuneration totals. The underlying performance measures and service periods should be checked before making comparisons between executives.

The report also includes other executive KMP with part-year service and role transitions. When benchmarking, a part-year disclosure should not be treated as a direct comparison with a full-year executive without adjustment.

How does NAB structure long-term incentives?

NAB's FY2025 report explains the FY2026 long-term incentive award design, a prospective arrangement rather than a FY2025 vesting outcome.

For the CEO and permanent Group Executives, the FY2026 LTI grant comprises two components:

For a CEO on $2.5 million fixed remuneration, 140% is $3.5 million at grant face value. It is not a guaranteed cash payment or an amount that necessarily vests. Actual outcomes depend on four-year performance measures and can be zero.

NAB also disclosed that the Group CEO's fixed remuneration would not increase for 2026, while five Group Executives were approved for changes ranging from 3.7% to 8.7%, effective 1 January 2026.

Source: NAB FY2025 Annual Report, Section 2.3: Executive remuneration in 2026.

Why is risk so important to remuneration at a bank?

Unlike a simple sales commission plan, bank incentives must consider outcomes that may only become apparent years later. Strong revenue or short-term earnings do not necessarily reflect prudent lending, fair customer outcomes or effective management of regulatory risk.

NAB discloses the role of risk and conduct in incentive decisions, deferral and potential adjustments, reflecting the requirements of APRA Prudential Standard CPS 511 Remuneration.

For remuneration committees, the practical lesson is to document the performance basis, the risk assessment and the reasons for any discretion or adjustment, particularly where awards are deferred over multiple years.

What can Australian employers learn from NAB?

A small or medium business would rarely need the complex regulatory framework of a major bank, but some ideas transfer well.

Keep target and maximum distinct. NAB's CEO received 92% of target, which was 69% of maximum. These figures describe different reference points, and an employee's bonus plan should make both clear.

Make the payment split explicit. A $100,000 annual award could be structured as $60,000 cash and $40,000 deferred, if the business has a justified retention or risk objective. This is a simplified illustration of the allocation proportions, not a recommendation that every employer adopt a banking model.

Assess risk before approving incentives. Relevant risk checks for a smaller business might include serious compliance breaches, customer complaints or material financial misstatements. Rules should be established up front and applied consistently.

Separate past vesting from current performance. Older equity awards can substantially increase a CEO's realised pay in a particular year without increasing the current-year cash bonus.

A practical KMP benchmarking checklist

• Identify exactly who was KMP during each reporting period.
• Record each executive's role and months of service.
• Separate fixed remuneration from annual VR target, maximum and actual award.
• Distinguish current-year cash from deferred rights.
• Record the grant year and vesting year of equity awards.
• Do not use voluntary realised remuneration as the statutory disclosure total.
• Note any retention, commencement or separation arrangements.
• Consider the different regulatory risk requirements applying to banks.

The practical takeaway

NAB's CEO remuneration illustrates why an executive salary is rarely described accurately by a single headline number. Andrew Irvine's FY2025 fixed annual remuneration was $2.5 million and the annual variable award earned was $1.725 million, while the remuneration realised during the year was approximately $7.57 million, largely because older equity incentives vested.

For other ASX companies, a meaningful benchmark requires a consistent distinction between fixed salary, bonus awarded, performance rights granted, rights vested and statutory accounting remuneration.

Need independent executive benchmarking or an incentive framework review? Contact Remunera for KMP peer comparisons, remuneration committee reporting and practical remuneration advice.

Data note: The primary source is NAB's FY2025 Annual Report, especially Remuneration Report Sections 2, 4 and 6. All amounts are AUD. The FY2026 grant structure described here is a future arrangement disclosed in that report, not a FY2025 realised payout.