1. Certified Registered Nurse Anaesthetist (CRNA) – $77k to $258k. Certified registered nurse anaesthetists earn an average of just over $104,000 per year. That works out to an hourly rate of $50 and a monthly salary of $8,668.
The average salary for Registered Nurse is A$3,178 per month in the Sydney, Australia. The average additional cash compensation for a Registered Nurse in the Sydney, Australia is A$3,140, with a range from A$280 - A$6,000.
According to the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, as of 2023, registered nurses in Australia earn an average salary of around AUD 69,000 to AUD 100,000 per year, while enrolled nurses earn an average salary of around AUD 48,000 to AUD 66,000 per year.
The average registered nurse salary in Australia is around $79,550 per year (about $41,00 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $76,063 per year up to $97,568 per year.
As alluded to, the profession is facing increasingly stressful working conditions and with evidence of a future shortfall of nurses/midwives, there is a growing need to provide detailed research and evidence as a catalyst and platform for intervention strategies to address issues facing the profession.
1. California. With an average salary of $124,000 annually, the Golden State takes the prize for being the highest-paying state for registered nurses.
Many will argue that med-surg work is the heart of nursing and provides new grads with the foundational skills they will need to move on to other specialties later, if they so choose. And frankly, the easiest and fastest way to get a job as a new grad is to go to a med/surg floor.
The average practice nurse salary in Australia is $88,314 per year or $45.29 per hour.
Based on our latest GP salary survey (May 2023), the average GP salary in Australia is $334,000 for GPs who work 7 or more sessions per week (full-time). The annual General Practitioner salary for part-time GPs, working 6 sessions or less per week, amounts to an average of $164,000 pa.
The average doctor salary in Australia is $165,750 per year or $85 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $122,508 per year, while most experienced workers make up to $276,640 per year.
Nurses and midwives are some of the worst affected, taking a real pay cut of almost $3000. According to the report: “A first-year nurse working for NSW Health in 2022 earned an annual wage of $76,403.60. When adjusted to 2022 dollars, that same first-year nurse working in 2012 earned $79,184.68.
Aged care nursing
Nursing care of older people is an in-demand nursing specialty due in large part to Australia's rapidly ageing population. Older people often have complex health care needs and require compassionate and highly skilled care to support them through this stage of their lives.
The annual salary for a nurse in France (€35,531) or Italy (€29,222) was less than half the annual salary in Belgium (€72,508) and almost exactly half that in Switzerland (€70,965). With the lowest salaries for nurses, Lithuania (€11,880) is followed by Turkey (€12,172) and Latvia (€13,551).
Perth, Western Australia
It is a family-friendly city because it is in the top 10 liveable cities in the world for 2021. They pay their registered nurses an average annual salary of $81,162.
In Victoria and New South Wales, the base salaries are closer to New Zealand, but can still be up to $6000 NZD more. An intermediate nurse in New Zealand, for example, earns $80,883 NZD. In Queensland, a nurse on the same level earns $97,597 NZD. In New South Wales it's $83,613 NZD and in Victoria $84,551 NZD.
1. Luxembourg. Luxembourg is one of the top highest-paying countries for nurses. The average salary for a nurse in Luxembourg is $91,000.
Depending on how you enter the healthcare industry, the cost of living may be on par with your salary, however, the good news is that Registered Nurses and above can expect to live relatively comfortably anywhere in Australia.
What nursing jobs are the most stressful? The most stressful nursing jobs include ICU nurse, ER nurse, and NICU nurse. In these roles, nurses work in an intense environment with high stakes. They manage emergency situations and care for critically ill patients.
Working Hours of Australian Nurses
Keep in mind that most nurses will work an average of 38 hours but overtime opportunities abound. When a nurse first starts off their career they can work up to 12 hour shifts for three days in a row. This will put them in the 36-hour range.