Directors of the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland will go from receiving no remuneration to being paid an average of $1480 for every meeting they attended.

The change was passed at the club's annual meeting on Tuesday.

Previously, nine of the RACQ council's 16 directors did not receive remuneration. The remaining seven had received between $10,000 and $19,999 for their work as directors of RACQ Insurance Pty Ltd, at an average of $13,140.

But under the changes, all 13 directors will be eligible for payment, provided the total bill does not exceed $250,000. This means directors on average could receive up to $19,2000 a year, or $1480 for each meeting based on the 13 meetings held last year.

The club's 1995 annual report said councillors should be adequately paid for their "skills, experience, time, and energy". "Councillors' remuneration should be set at a level which is comparable with other commercial companies of a similar size."

RACQ chief executive officer Noel Mason yesterday said the board had yet to decide the exact remuneration for each director.

He said directors not only spent considerable time preparing for and attending directors' meetings, but some also attended zone meetings and they had to be aware of the broad spectrum of RACQ operations.

by Chris Griffith