AFL North East Border's Commission approved the recommendation from umpire advisory groups of a 20 per cent reduction in fees to fall in line with other country and metro umpiring bodies.

"Like players, umpires are also keen to participate should the season commence with over 90 individual umpires responding to a recent survey to confirm their level of commitment and readiness," umpire manager Michael Bocquet said.

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AFLNEB regional general manager John O'Donohue said that it was pleasing to see the level of commitment from umpires to reduce the financial pressures expected.

"We need to be conscious that the decisions we make now will have consequences in the future, therefore a 20 per cent reduction supports our retention and recruitment strategy for umpires," he added.

Umpires are preparing for the season to start in July.