Many people would like to know how much nurses get paid in Australia. Here are some current figures as of July 2010 to give you some indication (for Queensland at least – each state has their own award) of nursing wages.
The new Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health) Certified Agreement (EB7) has gone to vote, with 94% of respondents supporting the agreement. Following the voting process, the agreement has also been certified by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission.
Wage Increases and Allowances
The following increases apply to nurses and midwives:
• 4.5% or $34 per week, whichever is the greater, payable from 1 April 2009;
• 4% or $34 per week, whichever is the greater, payable from 1 April 2010; and
• 4% or $34 per week, whichever is the greater, payable from 1 April 2011.
To give some indication, the current wages are as follows:
For a Level 1 Public Sector Registered Nurse
(formerly NO1, now known as ‘Grade 5′):
Re-entry nurse – $1,996.70 /fnight ($52,092 /annum)
year 1 – $2,090.80 /fnight ($54,547 /annum)
year 2 – $2,189.90 /fnight ($57,133 /annum)
year 3 – $2,289.00 /fnight ($59,718 /annum)
year 4 – $2,388.30 /fnight ($62,309 /annum)
year 5 – $2,487.80 /fnight ($64,905 /annum)
year 6 – $2,587.30 /fnight ($67,501 /annum)
year 7 – $2,686.60 /fnight ($70,091 /annum)
For Clinical Nurses (CN’s, or ‘Nurse Grade 6′)
year 1 – $2,732.80 /fnight ($71,297 /annum)
year 2 – $2,797.30 /fnight ($72,980 /annum)
year 3 – $2,862.30 /fnight ($74,675 /annum)
year 4 – $2,927.50 /fnight ($76,376 /annum)
Or in hourly rates:
Level 1 Nurses:
Re-entry nurse – $26.27
year 1 – $27.51
year 2 – $28.80
year 3 – $30.11
year 4 – $31.42
year 5 – $32.73
year 6 – $34.04
year 7 – $35.35
Clinical Nurses:
year 1 – $35.95
year 2 – $36.80
year 3 – $37.66
year 4 – $38.51
Penalty Rates
The above rates indicate what you can expect when you work day hours from Monday to Friday. For the majority of nurses however (shift workers), you can also add on the following hourly penalty rates:
- Shifts commencing after 12 midday (afternoon): +12.5%
- Night Shift Allowance: +20%
- Saturday penalty rates: +50% (time + 1/2)
- Sunday penalty rates: +75% (time + 3/4)
You can also be eligible for qualification allowance if you’ve done a Grad Cert / Grad Dip etc that is relevant to your current position. Generally speaking this equates to around $1 more per hour.
Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Unit Managers etc. earn more than the rates posted above. To see these and many other changes in EB7, see a copy of the agreement.
NB – Private hospitals in Queensland have their own awards and agreements – see each individual hospital for current wages etc.
Hi Ross. I found you through Google. Great site you have here. There’s a new interactive website dedicated to nurses (and those aspiring to be nurses!) in Australia.
The members would benefit from reading your thoughts about nursing in Australia and in general.
When you have a moment, come and visit our site.
Cheers Christine
@Nurse Uncut – Hi, thanks for that – I’ll check it out…
Hey Ross
I am currently a nursing student. Just on this topic, I realized that you mentioned alot more can be earned if doing shift work for penalty rates. I was wondering, does the market at the moment offer any incentives for working in the rural areas?
Steven
@Steven – Hi, thanks for your enquiry. Hey look I believe incentives still are in place for nurses wanting to go rural or remote. The QLD Health rural and remote page lists bonuses such as:
* Free or subsidised accommodation available with over 120 hospitals and health care facilities
* Up to $2,500 in professional development allowance
* Minimum of 2 weeks paid professional development leave, with paid travel and course/conference costs
* Appointment and relocation costs paid
* Fly in – fly out (with spouse and dependants) with recreation leave twice p.a.
* Bonus payments for each year of service. After 1 year: $3,000. After 2 years: $9,000. Each year after 3 years: $6,000.
Check out this link for more info on how to apply etc…
Wow. . your rates in Queensland are great. I worked RNS in Sydney for a year. The pay was solid, especially with penalty pay.
What I detested was the rotating shifts to night duty. . .absolutely barbaric!! Plus the cost of housing rental in Sydney was horrific!
But other than that, I adored it. I worked at Gold Coast hospital in Queensland too. I still have my NSW and QLD license.
I am holding onto them. Right now, I am a nurse educator in the US. US trauma nurse too.
Great that you go to host Change of Shift! Good on ya!!!!
@Jeanette – I’m with you all the way on the night shift thing, can’t stand em! The US gig sounds great – I hear it can be quite tough to transfer registration to the US?
Hi, can you tell me please about new wages for practice Nurses in QLD, because it is always being low compared to nurses working in other sectors. thnaks.
Holy cow!! Excuse my language! I say that because I am currently a nursing student in Northern Ireland (UK)! Nurses here start on a salary of £17,000 if they are lucky and it goes up to roughly £30,000! £17,000 is around the same as $29,400 australian dollars give or take! The highest amount paid here is £30,000 thats $52,000! So what we get after a lifetime of service if we are lucky is the equivalent to what you guys get starting off! Hell no thats wrong, we got it all wrong here! I am so migrating! You guys still looking for nurses from UK and Ireland?? Give me another two years or soo and australia here I come! As much as I love nursing, thats just not right! Damn politicians here are claiming expenses on second homes while we are breaking our backs literally for beans!
hiya, i am looking to emigrate in june 2011. i have two years of nursing experience. i currently working full time in a childrens hospital. i was wondering how much pay would i receive and is oz still looking for nurses. im worried i wont get a job!!!
hey guys, great website. I’m looking to emigrate next year with my partner and a baby. My partner works as a ward manager in medium secure forensic psychiatric hospital and has a degree in nursing, is it possible for him to get similar post in Oz or does he have to start from scratch as a staff nurse? He has been qualified for the past 10 years. how much would he be likely to get as a ward manager in Oz? Sorry for bombarding you with all these questions. I work as a healthcare assistant in the same hospital for past 5 years but dont have NVQ in healthcare, but have 4 A levels in other studies, would I be able to find a job there as well? Thank you all
Hi Guys
Im currently in my last year and qualify as i staff nurse Aug 2011. Im doing an essay on Australia, Queensland as this is where i am hoping to work 2012. Her4e in Aberdeen, Scotland we have course called CPD which stands for Continuing Professional Development. This is where a staff nusr obtains differnet certificates etc for IV bolus, and other specilased areas where you dont get trained at UNI. Is this the same in Oz or is it different? Also in Oz do nurses train branch specific? Im currently traing to do Adult general, but after qualifing i can then do another 18 months whilst working to become MH nurse or Pedatric. So many questions, im sorry buts its very difficut to obtain any Info.
Would love to get any feedback!!
Thanks alot
Nichola
Hi Nichola, thanks for visiting
It works a little bit differently in Australia, everyone does a nursing degree and essentially comes out of uni as a ‘registered nurse’ – as part of the course you dabble in a little of each area (med/surg etc). So you don’t train branch specific as part of your degree.
If you want to do specialised training you could then go on to do a grad cert or grad dip, however most areas that you work also have area specific packages as part of the orientation and/or progression in that area.
For instance, if a general trained nurse were to work in recovery for the first time, they would normally do a learning package on theatre etc, same goes for places like orthopaedics. Oncology nurses also do extra training for cytotoxics etc. Many of the people who work in emergency/ICU go on to do grad cert in critical care or emerg, and if you want to be a nurse practitioner then it’s 2 years more study.
Certification for IV cannula’s, venepuncture, nurse initiated analgesia, nurse initiated xrays and advanced cardiac life support are done ‘in-house’ at the hospital where you work by ways of training days / training packs that involve some testing etc and are done during work time as part of your professional development. Staff are generally encouraged but not forced to do these extra things.
Hope this answers some of your questions!
Thankyou so much for your feedback i really appreciate it!!
I will most definately be using and surfing this websire from now on
Nichola
Hi again
What shifts do nurse do in QL, is it early/lates or 12 hour shifts. Also what is the hours per week?
Thanks again
Hi all,
what a wealth of knowledge this spot is…currently I am a EEN student in queensland Australia…I am unsure how to find out what to do after this course, our teachers, just keep saying its up to you..have done 120 hrs age care and 120 acute care in our public hospital for work experience…my course is 18 months long, and am due to graduate in June 2011…not long to go…as we finish in the middle of the year, not sure if I should do a grad program, appyly to do RN as we get in to second year of the bachelor after doing diploma….
any advice on what options are best, Im 36yrs old am a single mother and really need to get working…but dont’ want to miss the chance whilst I have the motivation to study..to keep going…I want to be an RN, and aim after ten years of being a Nurse Educator in some capacity as teaching is my passion..also trying to find out what wages EENs get in Queensland is impossible at the moment…had also heard that with recent changes the requirement to change from EEN to RN is only one year in University, as opposed to the current 2year requirement…any advice greatly apprecieated….
with thanks
Rachel…
Help anyone know how to start the process of registration in australia?? im a qualified Pyschiatric nurse from ireland and was never any good at research.
any help would be greatly appreciated
Rach
Rachel, start here:
http://www.ahpra.gov.au
can anyone please tell me how many night shifts we can be expected to do in a row. i work for qld health as a nurse and am on a 10 day fortnight. i work monday to friday 8am til 4.30pm. we are allocated 1 r.d.o. per month for extra time worked. they have changed our roster to night shift mon, tues, wed, thurs and we finish at 7 am friday morning after doing the 4 consecutive night shifts, then they have rostered our r.d.o. on the friday after we finish our last night shift at 7 am friday. i do not feel that this is right as our r.d.o. is supposed to suit both parties at a time suitable to both of us and management. not after doing a night shift on the day of our r.d.o.. my opinion is that we have done a shift on the friday, being 12am til 7am so cannot have our r.d.o. on a day that we have worked a shift. management does not agree and says that is the only way they can work the mon to fri roster and will not roster us on the weekend. any comments?
hi,
i’m a RN and wish to migrate to Australia to have a degree in nursing,thereafter be a legal nurse consultant.What steps do i take to achieve my goal?I eagerly look forward to your response.
Thanks
Hi I am an EEN and can not find a job anywhere. I have been working for an agency however lucky if I get 3 shifts per week. You say there is a nursing shortage which really annoys me because I am a nurse with no job!!
hi i am yawer leo wish to migrate to australia have a diploma in nursing
How much extra would you earn if you had another degree as well as your initial nursing degree?
The wages listed above is pretty much impressive, and this may be the ultimate reason why majority of the nurses are heading to Australia…
Most of Cairns nurses are overpaid and unproffesional!
I recently admitted myself to Cairns base hospital due to chest pain that woke me in the middle of the night. I was checked over and have been diagnosed with complete heart block. This is a serious condition. I was observed in the emergency ward before being moved the next day to the cardiac ward. I was hoping on some peace and quiet whilst they preformed tests to what is going on. The first night I was woken at around 2pm by loud voices of a nurse and patient that was being moved into the same room. it woke all the patients (4) in the room and it wasn’t until I said shhhh the nurse started wispering and telling the patient to be quiet. Now Im only 38 and all the other patients were elderley and probably half deaf, but It was just blatantly rude to not talk quietly and try not disturb the other patients.
The next morning I was woken at 7pm by the cleaner and her conversation with the front desk at the top of her voice. The desk was approximatly 4 meters away and their was no reason whatsover for her to be so loud.. I said to her why are you talking so loud and waking everyone up. She replied if you have a problem call the nurse and walked off. I was astonished by her rudeness and disregard for patient rest.
The whole time she continued speaking loudly, gossiping with the desk and caching up on the weekends pursuits. She showed no respect for patients whatsoever. By now I had become very irritated and when she came into the room and I said to her, “Why cant you keep it down instead of acting like some stupid idiot”? She then carried on as if I had said she was directly an idiot (which she was) and then goes at the top of her voice, dont you call me an idiot, Im not an idiot, Im just doing my job. Now their was an elderly patient that got half of the converstaion and then he starts yelling at me to shut up and then saying to her You don’t have to take that love. O god I thought, you pack of morons! I felt under attack from all sides. I felt very disturbed and very unwelcome. A nurse come in and I told her what had happened. She told me not to worry and that many people had complained about that cleaner. I just shook my head and said I am not supprised in the slightest.
About an hour later some nurses came in and said they were going to move me to a quieter ward so I could get some rest. I could not have been happier and was moved into the next room. I thought that was going to be the end of it, but my time at Cairns Base hospital was about to get worse.
Everytime their was a change of shift, I was woken by the nurses. Its hard to explain but more like I was in the crowd of a local bar. The failed to show any consideration of the patients, gossiping, laughing, telling jokes, and it really gave me the understanding their is no authority or a code of practise shown in this hospital whatsoever. Some of the nurses behaved with maturity, but the majority were obnoxiousily rude with their noise. Dont get me wrong, it is normal to be able to converse. But not in a manner that is disturbing. These are standard expectations I expect from a hospital.
I again was woken around midnight. I felt some pain around my heart and called for the nurse. I was given an anginine tablet and it was such a relief. I could not believe how much better I felt, I told the nurse it was increadable how good I suddenly felt. It was really that amazing. But at about 3am I am woken by some man talking loudly as he came into the room and made some joke with the nurses on watch. I looked up and shook my head at him and went shhhh. He looked at me and became slightly less loud.and left shortly after.
The next morning I woke around 7am and was just laying their under the covers. A short time later a nurse started shaking my leg telling me to wake up. I sat up and she said “How are you enjoying your stay”? I said “I am not getting any sleep because the nurses cant be quiiet and show some consideration for the patients around here”. She answers smiling, her face in denial, “Oh no were not like that, were not like that at all”. I said “You just asked me how my stay is and I just told you and your just denying it happens, why did you ask me then”? Laughing at me she says “Were very proffesional around here” and again says “Were not like that at all”. I said “Your not listening to me in the slightest, dont ask me then what I think, go away”. All she was doing was stressing me out with her commincation levels of a flea. I did not swear, I did not threaten her, nothing. I just quickly realised this nurse was poinless to talk too and wanted her to go away. What she said next just blew me away. She says, O well I’ll go get security then. I looked at her in disgust and said “That would get you off wouldn’t it”.
I was gobsmacked. Another nurse came to me about five minutes later. I gather she was perhaps the head nurse, I dont know, but she asked what was going on. I explained exactley what had been constanley woken and now I was being threatened with security and for what reason? I said I wanted to make a complaint. She said not to let it get to me and left me with some phamphlet on making a complaint. The other “security” nurse would not give me any eye contact and her body language was of a nervous disposition. This made me uncomfortable to be here, and my stress levels rose..
Later I started developing pain around my heart and in my stomach and called a nurse for some pain relief. I was administered some angine and something for my stomach. They were nearly tripping over themselfs to get pills in my mouth. It was quite alarming to feel that was all they knew what to do. I talked to one of the nurses and told her this was the first time I had ever adressed my pain.. I have had these pains over the last 3 years but was extreamely nervous on seeing any doctor after being accused by a psychologist of rape and having all my belongs stolen by themselfs and another client. Just for the record I rang the police three times and they done nothing!. So I am more than wary of seeing any so called proffessional. She asked me how I had dealt with the pain, and I explained that If I roll on my side it lessoned sometimes. I fell asleep shortly after.
Later I had a few doctors come into the room and tell me they were still doing tests and they wanted to keep observing me over the weekend. The doctor was the same person who had woken me up earlier that morning.I was far from impreseed but did not say a thing, I was more intreaged to find out they wished to fit a pacemaker within three days. I fell back asleep and woke around lunchtime. I felt pain again in my heart and asked the nurse could I have something for the pain. She went and asked the nurse who had threatened security and she was told to administer some gaviscon. I took it and it made no difference. I then asked could I have an angenine because that had worked earlier. She then went and told the “security” nurse I was still in pain and came back with a neurofen. I took this and it made no difference. I said why are not giving me angenine? She said that my reaction to it that morning was too slow and it was probably something else. I said how do you fiqure that when I feel asleep shortly after i had it? I said Im in pain and your not giving me anythinf for it, and Im in a hospital!. WHY? She said it was up to the “security nurse” and I again said I need an anginine because I know it works. She then went away and asked the “security” nurse if I could have one and do you know what she said to her. “Tell him to lie on his side”. When she returned I said this is just a joke I am in pain.
I also want to note that I was looking at my history in the charts that day at the end of the bed and to my amazement, someone, had written that I had admitted to using extasy. I never said such a thing!! Why on earth was this this written in this book? I asked a nurse why the hell was that written their and she said she could not explain it and wrote In the book I had denied it. I took a photo a s proof, but I was more worried that some moron had somehow managed to write this in. All I could think of is what if in an emergency situation I didn’t get the right medication because they thought I used extasy!
When my friend turned up about an hour later I said I am getting out of this hole, I told her about what had happened earlier, and she also agreed that the place is stuffed up! I could not pack my bags fast enough. I had a doctor come over and ask what was I doing? I said Ive had it, this place is ferel, It is causing me more stress being here, so what is the point? I could see the security nurse having a good old laugh about it with the other nurses, this just reinforced the place was full of amatures. The doctor was more interested in me sighning the idemity form of realease than listening to anything I had to say.
I went home immediatley and booked to see my gp asap. I now have angenine sparay and have not been having any more aches, Unfortuanltly he said I will have to go back to see a specialist at the same hospital.
He faxed them the documents and I am waiting for them to call me. It has now been three days and I have still have not recieved a phone call. I would not be suprised at all by the way Cairns base hospital is run, that I will even get a phone call back.
Nurses in my book deserve a pay decrease, they are overrated on how proffesional they are!
I am constantley reminded by this country’s pathetic representation of a proffesional and low standards
you can have but still be called a proffesional! I am disgusted by the treatment I recieved!
My PM’s should have Been AM’s
“The first night I was woken at around 2pm” – I meant 2AM
The next morning I was woken at 7pm – I meant 7AM
Still waiting!
Hey there.
Quite obviously somebody with some serious social issues, otherwise a 12-13 year old trying their hand at writing a story. More likely the latter I believe.
Hi There
For all those Registered Nurses who are currently registered with AHPRA and are interested in Legal Nurse Consulting, contact me via my website. “Roadshow” Seminars will start in March 2012 in Melbourne and then on to Sydney,Brisbane,Adelaide and Perth. Hope to hear back. Amanda Gossman RN,CCRN,LNC,CNE
hi there
all I have is praise for the fantastic nurses at the PA hospital in Brisbane that were so wonderful in looking after my partner and helping her (and I) through her cancer diagnosis, treatment, journey and follow up.
Thanks to them, they have inspired me to want to be a nurse back in Australia, especially at the PA one day xxx many thanks xxx
I am an RN in the US and was wondering if my Aasn RN was equivalent to your BSN? I would love to come to Australia to work and live.
currently working in fiji as a registed nurse.
looking forward for your reply
thank you.