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INNurses Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Nurses Award actually pays — the right classification level, shift and weekend penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Nurses Award is applied
- Minimum rates are the clause 15.1 (non-aged-care) adult rates, first pay point of each level, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
- Casuals get a 25% loading with a 2-hour minimum engagement — weekend and public-holiday penalties then apply to the whole loaded casual rate.
- Shift loadings — 12.5% for afternoon shifts and 15% for nights, Monday to Friday — are the penalty health employers most often miss, and they don’t apply to RN Levels 4 and 5.
- Overtime pays 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200% (Monday–Saturday) — and it substitutes for shift and weekend penalties: pay the higher of the two, never both.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including shift and weekend penalties — but not to overtime.
- The RN Level 4–5 exclusion is the award’s quiet trap: promote a nurse into an assistant director role and the overtime, shift loadings and on-call allowances all switch off.
Who the award covers
- Health industry employers who employ nurses and midwives — hospitals, clinics, medical centres
- Registered nurses (Levels 1–5) and nurse practitioners
- Enrolled nurses and student enrolled nurses
- Nursing assistants — outside aged care settings
- Occupational health nurses
- Labour hire staff placed into the health industry as nurses or midwives
Doctors and medical practitioners, allied health professionals (Health Professionals and Support Services Award), school nurses, and nursing assistants in aged care (Aged Care Award or SCHADS Award) sit under other awards — check before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
The Nurses Award classifies by registration and responsibility, not job title: assistants in nursing, enrolled nurses, registered nurses across five levels, and nurse practitioners. Most small practices hire between nursing assistant and RN Level 2 — the levels above are genuine management and executive roles with their own special rules.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing assistant | $27.65 | $1050.70 | Assistant in nursing (AIN) — 1st year | Not registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board: works under the direct supervision of an RN, solely assisting RNs and ENs to deliver nursing care. Steps up with years of service. |
| Nursing assistant (Cert III) | $29.45 | $1119.10 | Experienced AIN holding a relevant Certificate III | An experienced assistant in nursing with a relevant Certificate III — the qualification sets a higher floor than the years-of-service scale. |
| Enrolled nurse | $30.00 | $1139.90 | Enrolled nurse (EN) — pay point 1 | Enrolled with the Nursing and Midwifery Board after an accredited course; works with limited discretionary judgment. Pay points step up yearly with experience to pay point 5 ($31.56/hr). |
| RN Level 1 | $32.09 | $1219.50 | Registered nurse — general nursing | Delivers direct and comprehensive nursing care under the general guidance of a more senior RN. Eight pay points: a 4-year degree graduate enters at $33.51/hr; the ladder tops out at $38.57/hr. |
| RN Level 2 | $39.59 | $1504.40 | Clinical nurse | Appointed by selection or reclassification: cares for a specific patient group in a particular practice area, supports and orients RN Level 1s, ENs and students, and plans services as delegated. |
| RN Level 3 | $42.93 | $1631.20 | Clinical nurse consultant · Nurse manager · Nurse educator | Leads a clinical specialty, manages staff and budgets, or runs education programs. If you call the role “Nurse Unit Manager”, it lives here. |
| RN Level 4 | $48.99 | $1861.70 | Assistant director of nursing (clinical, management or education) | Nursing executive: accountable for care standards, resources or education across a specified span of control. Grades 1–3 by facility complexity. No overtime, shift loadings or clause-17 allowances at this level. |
| RN Level 5 | $49.44 | $1878.60 | Director of nursing | Accountable for the nursing service of the whole health unit, sitting on its executive. Grades 1–6 by facility complexity, topping out at $71.23/hr. Same exclusions as Level 4. |
| Nurse practitioner | $49.39 | $1877.00 | Nurse practitioner — 1st year | A registered nurse with the additional Nursing and Midwifery Board qualification, authorised to practise autonomously — assess, prescribe, refer and order diagnostics. 2nd year: $50.86/hr. |
- The award runs two parallel rate streams — this calculator uses the general (non-aged-care) stream from clause 15.1. Aged care employers use the separate, higher clause 15.3 table.
- Each level has multiple pay points that step up with years of service — the calculator uses the first pay point of each level, so longer-serving staff will sit above these figures.
- “Nurse Unit Manager” is a workplace title, not an award classification — the award calls that role a Nurse manager, inside RN Level 3.
- RN Levels 4 and 5 are effectively salaried under the award: no overtime rates, no shift loadings and no clause-17 allowances apply to them.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Nurses Award adds allowances for particular duties and situations — being the designated first aid officer, working overtime without notice, using your own car. They’re small lines individually, but they’re legal entitlements and they add up. The common ones (1 July 2026 amounts):
The calculator below doesn’t include allowances — add the ones that apply to your team on top of the result. The full list lives in the award’s allowances clause.
Break entitlements under the Nurses Award
Breaks are part of the award too — and missed or worked-through breaks usually carry a penalty rate, so they belong in the roster, not just the tea room. Here’s what the Nurses Award requires:
From the award’s breaks clause (clause 14). Verify the current award text before relying on it.
Calculate a week under the Nurses Award
Enter the week as it’s actually rostered. Weekend, evening and public-holiday hours are paid at the award’s penalty rates; anything beyond 38 hours is priced as overtime; super is applied to ordinary-time earnings only.
Rates current as of 1 July 2026 (adult minimums, MA000034) — first full pay period on or after that date.
This week’s numbers
Nothing is stored or sent — the maths runs on this page.
Are these the exact legal rates?
They’re the adult minimums from the award’s general (non-aged-care) stream at the first pay point of each level, current at 1 July 2026. Each level steps up through pay points with service, and aged care employers use a separate, higher table. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
I run an aged care service — do these rates apply?
No — the award has a second rate stream just for aged care (clause 15.3), with substantially higher minimums following the Work Value Case. Work out your stream before you look up a single rate.
Do casuals get shift loadings on top of the 25%?
Yes. The award calculates the 12.5% or 15% shift loading on the base minimum rate, then adds the casual loading on top — the calculator’s casual percentages already combine the two. Weekends work differently: Saturday and Sunday penalties apply to the whole loaded casual rate.
Does overtime stack with weekend penalties?
No — the award says overtime rates are in substitution for, not cumulative upon, shift loadings and weekend penalties. An overtime hour on a Sunday is paid at the overtime rate (200%), not 175% plus overtime. Pay the higher rate, never both.
This is a general calculator, not legal advice. It applies the award’s published adult minimums to the hours you enter — it can’t see your enterprise agreement, allowances or individual arrangements, and junior, apprentice and shiftwork rates differ. Always confirm pay against the award, your agreement or your adviser. If you believe something here is materially wrong or out of date, please contact us — we’ll review it promptly.
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Tommy applies the right award rates to every shift as you roster — penalties, loading and super included. Start with your email and your numbers come along.
