Enrolled Nurse Pay Rate 2026-27
Enrolled nurses are covered by the Nurses Award, which sets a five pay point scale plus a separate, higher classification for aged care. Both are published below, with what each one leaves after tax.
The short answer
An enrolled nurse is paid $30.00 an hour at pay point 1, or $1,139.90 a week full-time, rising to $31.56 an hour at pay point 5. A casual at pay point 1 is paid $37.50 an hour, including the 25% loading. The award carries a separate aged care classification as well, for an enrolled nurse supervising other direct care employees, at $40.58 an hour.
Award floor
$30.00
Pay point 1, an hour
Top pay point
$31.56
Pay point 5, an hour
Casual, at the floor
$37.50
Includes the 25% loading
Take-home a year
$49,787
$1,915 a fortnight, at the floor
These are legal minimums set by a modern award, not a market average. This site does not publish average or advertised salaries, because the number that matters on a payslip is the floor an employer cannot go below. Many employers pay more, and an enterprise agreement can set a higher rate again.
Enrolled nurse rates, pay point by pay point.
Two tables, because the award treats aged care separately and varies it on its own date. Check which of them describes your employer before comparing a payslip.
Enrolled nurse
1 July 2026 · PR799315
The general scale, for enrolled nurses other than aged care employees. Five pay points, reflecting experience rather than a change of role.
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay point 1 | $1,139.90 | $30.00 | $37.50 | $49,787 |
| Pay point 2 | $1,155.00 | $30.39 | $37.99 | $50,321 |
| Pay point 3 | $1,170.40 | $30.80 | $38.50 | $50,865 |
| Pay point 4 | $1,187.20 | $31.24 | $39.05 | $51,459 |
| Pay point 5 | $1,199.20 | $31.56 | $39.45 | $51,884 |
Enrolled nurse, aged care employees
1 August 2026 · PR812118
The award publishes one enrolled nurse classification for aged care employees, and it is a supervisory one. It takes effect on a later date and under a different determination from the general scale.
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enrolled nurse supervising other direct care employees | $1,542.00 | $40.58 | $50.73 | $64,005 |
Hourly figures are the weekly rate over 38 ordinary hours. Take-home is an estimate for a single Australian resident for tax purposes with no study loan debt and no Medicare levy surcharge, worked out with the same Wage Calculator used across this site. Superannuation is paid by your employer on top of these rates and is never deducted from them.
Which award covers an enrolled nurse.
The Nurses Award 2020 (MA000034) is the modern award for nursing work. It covers nursing assistants, student enrolled nurses, enrolled nurses, registered nurses at levels 1 to 5, occupational health nurses and nurse practitioners, and it sets a floor for all of them.
An enrolled nurse holds a Diploma of Nursing and is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia in the enrolled nurse division. That registration is what puts you on this scale rather than the nursing assistant scale below it or the registered nurse scale above it. Within the scale, the five pay points reflect years of experience, not a change in duties.
The award splits its rate tables between aged care employees and everyone else, and the two are varied on different dates by different determinations. For enrolled nurses the aged care table contains a single classification, an enrolled nurse supervising other direct care employees, and it is paid well above the top of the general scale.
One caveat matters more here than on most award pages. A large share of nursing work in Australia is covered by a state or territory enterprise agreement, and in public health those agreements sit above the award and carry their own increments, allowances and shift rules. Where an agreement applies, the award rate is the floor beneath it rather than the rate you are paid.
Every classification in this award, including the ones this page leaves out, is listed on the Nurses Award Pay Rates page.
Where these figures come from.
Provenance
Verified- Award
- Nurses Award 2020 (MA000034)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026 and 1 August 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 August 2026
- Determinations
- PR799315, PR812118
- Retrieved
- 6 September 2026
- Ordinary hours
- 38 a week
Every rate above was read from the award text at the Fair Work award library and nothing on this page is copied from another pay site. Rates change from the first full pay period on or after the effective date, so a payslip covering the changeover can lawfully carry the older figure for part of the period.
What this page does not cover.
Listed as plainly as what it does, because a rate page that hides its gaps is how the wrong number ends up on a payslip.
Registered nurses
Levels 1 to 5, the aged care registered nurse table and nurse practitioners are all separate scales on the award page.
Student enrolled nurses
A student enrolled nurse is a separate classification, paid below the enrolled nurse scale, and is published on the award page.
Shift and weekend penalties
Afternoon, night, weekend, public holiday and overtime loadings are set separately in the award and are not in these tables.
Allowances
In-charge, on-call and other nursing allowances are additional to the rates above and are not included here.
Enterprise agreements
Most public hospital nursing is covered by a state or territory agreement that pays above the award and is not published on this site.
Market or advertised pay
This page publishes the award floor only. It is not an average, a median, or what a given hospital or provider actually offers.
Enrolled Nurse Pay Rate questions, answered.
What is the hourly rate for an enrolled nurse in Australia?
Under the Nurses Award, an enrolled nurse is paid $30.00 an hour at pay point 1, rising to $31.56 an hour at pay point 5. Weekly, that is $1,139.90 to $1,199.20 for 38 ordinary hours. The award also carries one higher aged care classification, for an enrolled nurse supervising other direct care employees, at $40.58 an hour.
Why is the aged care enrolled nurse rate higher?
The Nurses Award publishes a separate rate table for aged care employees, and its enrolled nurse classification, covering an enrolled nurse supervising other direct care employees, sits at $40.58 an hour against $31.56 at the top of the general enrolled nurse scale. The two tables also take effect on different dates and under different determinations, which is one reason published enrolled nurse rates disagree with each other.
What is the casual rate for an enrolled nurse?
A casual enrolled nurse is paid the hourly rate for their pay point plus a loading of 25 per cent. At pay point 1 that is $37.50 an hour and at pay point 5 it is $39.45 an hour. The loading is paid instead of annual leave, paid personal leave and notice of termination.
How do enrolled nurse pay points work?
The enrolled nurse scale has five pay points, and they reflect experience rather than a change of role. An enrolled nurse normally advances one pay point for each additional year of experience until reaching pay point 5. A missed increment is one of the most common underpayments in nursing, so it is worth checking the pay point on your payslip against your start date.
Does the Nurses award apply to an enrolled nurse in a public hospital?
Often it does not, in the sense that the award is only the floor. Most public hospital nurses are covered by a state or territory enterprise agreement that sets rates above the award and adds conditions the award does not contain. Where an agreement applies, its rate is the one you are paid, and the award rate remains the minimum it cannot go below.
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