Nurses Award pay guide 2026/2027

Casual rates for ordinary weekday hours in the general (non-aged-care) stream, generated from the current Fair Work pay guide (entry/pay point 1 shown where a level has multiple pay points):

If you only skim one section, make it this one:

• The Nurses Award 2020 [MA000034] covers assistants in nursing (AINs), enrolled nurses (EN), registered nurses (RN, levels 1–5) and nurse practitioners, with multiple pay points/grades within each level.
• Minimums are reviewed each July. The FY2026/27 pay guide took effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, lifting all rates by 4.75%.
• Example 2026/27 adult minimum pay (general stream):
  • Enrolled nurse pay point 1: full-time/part-time $30.00/hr, casual $37.50/hr.
  • Registered nurse level 1 pay point 1: full-time/part-time $32.09/hr, casual $40.11/hr.
• Weekend penalties are 150% (Saturday) and 175% (Sunday); public holidays 200% for full-time/part-time; casual rates are higher again.
• Shiftwork (afternoon/night) and on-call attract separate loadings — see below.
• Get stream, classification, pay point, employment type and shift type right for every employee.

The Nurses Award — full name the Nurses Award 2020 [MA000034] — is the modern award that sets the legal minimum pay and conditions for its industry. It covers nurses and assistants in nursing across private hospitals, medical practices, aged care and community health. It classifies by registration and role — assistant in nursing, enrolled nurse, registered nurse levels 1 to 5, and nurse practitioner — with pay points inside each level that step up with experience.

Pay is built from four things, in this order: the classification level the employee’s duties fall into (10 in this award), their employment type (full-time, part-time or casual — casuals receive a 25% loading instead of paid leave), when the shift was worked (weekend, public holiday, evening or overtime penalties), and any allowances that apply. Get one of the four wrong and the pay is wrong.

The Nurses Award covers nursing staff across hospitals, clinics, medical practices and other health settings:

• Assistants in nursing (AINs) / nursing assistants — including experienced AINs holding a relevant Certificate III.
• Student enrolled nurses and enrolled nurses (EN) — with pay points.
• Registered nurses (RN) — levels 1–5, with pay points and grades.
• Nurse practitioners.

Important — aged care and other awards: aged-care nurses are paid the aged-care rates under this award — see the Aged Care Award guide. Personal-care workers in aged care, and disability/community-services staff, fall under the Aged Care and SCHADS awards; allied-health and health-support staff under the Health Professionals & Support Services Award. Confirm coverage with Fair Work’s PACT tool.

A snapshot of the current FY2026/27 general-stream rates, generated from the same data that powers the calculator above. Entry/pay point 1 is shown where a classification has multiple pay points — check the pay guide for higher pay points and for the aged-care rates.

Ordinary weekday rates for a representative set of general-stream classifications:

Casuals receive the same base rate plus a 25% loading. Ordinary weekday casual rates:

Below is the 2026/27 ordinary hourly rate for each classification in the Nurses Award (full-time and part-time), with the casual rate (base + 25% loading) in brackets. Weekend, public-holiday and overtime penalties apply on top. Classification follows duties, qualifications and responsibility — not the job title.

Nursing assistant – 1st year — $27.65/hour full-time/part-time (casual $34.56/hour, $1050.70/week full-time). Assistant in nursing (AIN), entry level.

Nursing assistant – experienced (Cert III) — $29.45/hour full-time/part-time (casual $36.81/hour, $1119.10/week full-time). AIN holding a relevant Certificate III.

Student enrolled nurse – 21+ — $26.97/hour full-time/part-time (casual $33.71/hour, $1024.70/week full-time). Enrolled-nurse student, 21 years and over.

Enrolled nurse – pay point 1 — $30.00/hour full-time/part-time (casual $37.50/hour, $1139.90/week full-time). Enrolled nurse (EN), entry pay point.

Registered nurse – level 1, pay point 1 — $32.09/hour full-time/part-time (casual $40.11/hour, $1219.50/week full-time). Registered nurse (RN), entry pay point.

Registered nurse – level 2, pay point 1 — $39.59/hour full-time/part-time (casual $49.49/hour, $1504.40/week full-time). Experienced RN / clinical nurse.

Registered nurse – level 3, pay point 1 — $42.93/hour full-time/part-time (casual $53.66/hour, $1631.20/week full-time). Clinical nurse consultant / nurse manager.

Registered nurse – level 4, grade 1 — $48.99/hour full-time/part-time (casual $61.24/hour, $1861.70/week full-time). Nurse manager / educator (senior).

Registered nurse – level 5, grade 1 — $49.44/hour full-time/part-time (casual $61.80/hour, $1878.60/week full-time). Senior nurse manager / director of nursing.

Nurse practitioner – 1st year — $49.39/hour full-time/part-time (casual $61.74/hour, $1877.00/week full-time). Endorsed nurse practitioner, first year.

Classification follows registration, qualifications and responsibility — not job title.

• Assistants in nursing (AINs) progress by year of service, with a higher rate for those holding a relevant Certificate III.
• Enrolled nurses have several pay points that step up with experience.
• Registered nurses progress through levels 1–5, each with pay points or grades — a new graduate RN starts at level 1 pay point 1 and moves up annually.
• Nurse practitioners are a separate senior classification.
• Stream matters: aged-care nurses are paid the aged-care rates, not the general rates shown here.

Write each employee’s stream, classification, pay point/grade and employment type into your payroll/rostering system, and review pay points each year. If unsure, confirm the right level.

Here’s how the most common roles map to classifications and 2026/27 rates. Use these as a starting point, then confirm the level against the employee’s actual duties.

An assistant in nursing in their first year sits at $27.65/hr (casual $34.56/hr), rising to $29.45/hr with a relevant Certificate III.

An enrolled nurse starts at pay point 1 — $30.00/hr (casual $37.50/hr) and moves up pay points with experience. Student enrolled nurses aged 21+ sit at $26.97/hr.

A registered nurse starts at Level 1 pay point 1 — $32.09/hr (casual $40.11/hr). An experienced RN or clinical nurse sits at Level 2 — $39.59/hr, and a clinical nurse consultant or nurse manager at Level 3 — $42.93/hr.

Senior nurse managers and directors of nursing sit at Level 4–5 ($48.99–$49.44/hr), and an endorsed nurse practitioner starts at $49.39/hr (casual $61.74/hr).

The Nurses Award has weekend/public-holiday penalties plus a shiftwork system and on-call allowances:

• Saturday: 150% (full-time/part-time); casual higher again (the loading compounds on the penalty).
• Sunday: 175% (full-time/part-time); casual higher again.
• Public holiday: 200% (full-time/part-time) — plus a substitute day off for permanents; casual higher again.
• Shiftwork loadings (separate from the calculator above): afternoon shift and night shift worked Monday–Friday attract a loading on the ordinary rate; permanent night duty attracts more. The exact percentages depend on the shift — check the pay guide.
• On-call: about $28.66 (Mon–Fri), $43.17 (Saturday) and $50.37 (Sunday/public holiday/RDO) per on-call period of up to 24 hours.
• Overtime: time-and-a-half for the first 2 hours then double time (double time all day Sunday and on public holidays).

The calculator above covers ordinary, weekend and public-holiday rates for the general stream. For shiftwork, on-call and the aged-care rates, use Fair Work’s PACT tool or award-interpreting software.

• Full-time is around 38 hours per week, ongoing; part-time has a regular agreed pattern.
• Both receive paid annual and personal/carer’s leave (pro-rata for part-time) and other NES entitlements. Part-time hours should be agreed in writing.
• Nurses on rotating rosters may also be entitled to additional annual leave.

• Paid a 25% casual loading instead of paid leave, with a minimum engagement per shift.
• Casual weekend and public-holiday rates are higher than the permanent rates because the loading compounds on top of the penalty (for example, casual Saturday is 187.5% of the base rate).

Common allowances under this award include:

• On-call – about $28.66 (Mon–Fri), $43.17 (Saturday) and $50.37 (Sunday/public holiday/RDO) per on-call period of up to 24 hours.
• Meal allowance (overtime) – about $17.30, with a further $15.60 when more than 4 hours of overtime is worked.
• Uniform – about $1.26 per shift (max $6.41/week); laundry – about $0.33 per shift (max $1.53/week).
• In-charge and qualification allowances may also apply in some settings.

Most allowances do not apply to level 4 or 5 registered nurses. Exact amounts update each pay guide — see the Fair Work pay guide.

Leave comes from the National Employment Standards (NES), which apply on top of the award and cannot be reduced by it. Casual employees receive the loading instead of paid leave, but still get unpaid carer’s and compassionate leave, and paid family and domestic violence leave.

Four weeks per year for full-time employees, pro-rata for part-time, accruing progressively from the first day. Employees the award defines as shiftworkers receive a fifth week. Most awards also add annual leave loading — check the leave clause of this award for the rate that applies. See our annual leave guide for how accrual, cash-out and payout on termination work.

• Personal/carer’s leave: 10 days per year for full-time employees, pro-rata for part-time. It accrues and carries over year to year.
• Compassionate leave: 2 days per occasion.
• Family and domestic violence leave: 10 days per year, available to casuals as well, renewing each year rather than accruing.
• Parental leave: 12 months unpaid with a right to request a further 12, alongside the government paid parental leave scheme.
• Public holidays: employees are entitled to be absent on a public holiday; if they work it, the award’s public-holiday penalty applies.

Tracking accruals across mixed full-time, part-time and casual teams is where spreadsheets break down — leave management software keeps balances, requests and approvals in one place.

• Confirm the award and stream (general vs aged-care; not Health Professionals or SCHADS).
• Download the latest pay guide (FY2026/27).
• Classify each employee by stream, classification, pay point/grade; review pay points annually.
• Set base rates and apply weekend/public-holiday penalties, shiftwork loadings and on-call.
• Use award-interpreting software so shiftwork and on-call are calculated automatically, and keep records for 7 years.

These are the errors that show up most often when employers audit their own Nurses Award payroll.

Awards classify on what the employee actually does, their qualifications and their level of responsibility. Two people with the same title can sit on different levels, and someone doing higher duties is owed the higher rate for those hours.

Casual weekend and public-holiday rates are not the permanent penalty plus 25% bolted on afterwards. The award publishes a single casual figure for each penalty — use the rate sheet or the calculator above rather than stacking percentages by hand.

This award carries 6 common allowances. They are easy to overlook because they are not part of the hourly rate, but they are still legally owed — the rate sheet above lists every one.

The award has a distinct, higher rate for an assistant in nursing holding a relevant Certificate III. Leaving a qualified AIN on the first-year rate is a common and easily-audited underpayment.

• Four broad classifications: AINs, enrolled nurses, registered nurses (levels 1–5) and nurse practitioners.
• Watch the pay points and grades — they step up with experience and are a common underpayment trap.
• Aged-care nurses are paid different rates — use the Aged Care Award guide.
• Shiftwork and on-call are separate from weekend/public-holiday penalties — don’t forget them.
• Update every July and keep good records.

For official guidance, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website.