QLD nurse pay rates 2026 at a glance
| Classification | Hourly from | Lowest step a year | Highest step a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse Grade 5Registered Nurse/Midwife | $42.30 | $83,872 | $112,607 |
| Nurse Grade 3Enrolled Nurse | $38.11 | $75,573 | $80,204 |
| Nurse Grade 4Enrolled Nurse Advanced Skills | $41.65 | $82,578 | $87,626 |
| Nurse Grade 6 Band 1Clinical Nurse/Midwife | $57.76 | $114,532 | $122,643 |
| Nurse Grade 6 Band 2Associate Clinical Nurse/Midwife Consultant, Associate Nurse/Midwife Unit Manager, Associate Nurse/Midwife Manager, Associate Nurse/Midwife Educator, Associate Nurse/Midwife Researcher | $64.93 | $128,740 | $131,440 |
| Nurse Grade 7Clinical Nurse/Midwife Consultant, Nurse/Midwife Unit Manager, Nurse/Midwife Manager, Nurse/Midwife Educator, Nurse/Midwife Researcher, Public Health Nurse, Nurse/Midwife Navigator, Nurse Practitioner Candidate | $70.93 | $140,632 | $152,685 |
| Nurse Grade 9Director of Nursing/Midwifery — Remote | — | $161,727 | $173,251 |
| Nurse Grade 10Assistant Director of Nursing/Midwifery, Director of Nursing/Midwifery — Rural | — | $165,320 | $173,327 |
| Nurse Grade 11Nursing/Midwifery Director, Director of Nursing/Midwifery | — | $184,991 | — |
| Nurse Grade 12Nursing/Midwifery Director, Director of Nursing/Midwifery | — | $203,658 | — |
| Nurse Grade 13Health Service Director of Nursing/Midwifery, Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery | — | $218,010 | $265,059 |
| Nurse Grade 8Nurse Practitioner | $79.86 | $158,344 | $165,320 |
| Nurse Grade 1 Band 1Assistant in Nursing/Midwifery | $35.22 | $69,836 | $76,468 |
| Nurse Grade 2Undergraduate Student in Nursing/Midwifery | $35.95 | $71,276 | $72,215 |
What makes QLD different
- A registered nurse or midwife in Queensland starts at $87,790 a year, which is $44.2763 an hour — Queensland Health publishes the hourly rate to four decimal places.
- The 1 April 2026 rates include a 0.5% CPI Uplift Adjustment that the published agreement PDF does not yet show; the wage schedule is the operative document.
- Nurse Grade 5 has seven paid pay points now. Pay point 8 is legislated but does not start paying until 1 December 2027.
- Queensland pays the clinical nurse consultant and the nurse unit manager on the same grade and the same money.
What a registered nurse earns in Queensland
On the Registered Nurse/Midwife scale, Re-entry pays $83,872 a year and Pay point 7 pays $112,607. Queensland Health publishes those annual figures directly.
Queensland Health nursing and midwifery pay scales
Registered nurses and midwives
Registered Nurse/Midwife(Nurse Grade 5) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
| Step | Hourly | Casual hourly | A year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Re-entry | $42.30 | $52.88 | $83,872 |
| Pay point 1 | $44.28 | $55.35 | $87,790 |
| Pay point 2 | $46.36 | $57.95 | $91,915 |
| Pay point 3 | $48.44 | $60.55 | $96,053 |
| Pay point 4 | $50.53 | $63.16 | $100,180 |
| Pay point 5 | $52.61 | $65.76 | $104,318 |
| Pay point 6 | $54.70 | $68.38 | $108,466 |
| Pay point 7 | $56.79 | $70.99 | $112,607 |
| Pay point 8 | No published rate. No rate until 1 December 2027, when this pay point commences at $122,873 a year ($61.97 an hour). Pay point 7 employees with 12 months or more service on that date increment automatically (clause 27). | ||
Queensland pays registered nurses and midwives on one scale. Nurse Grade 5 is the registered nurse and midwife grade — the number is the grade, not the years of service.
Enrolled nurses
Enrolled Nurse(Nurse Grade 3) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
| Step | Hourly | Casual hourly | A year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay point 1 | $38.11 | $47.64 | $75,573 |
| Pay point 2 | $38.66 | $48.32 | $76,653 |
| Pay point 3 | $39.23 | $49.04 | $77,783 |
| Pay point 4From 1 June 2026 this is the minimum pay point for a Grade 3 enrolled nurse holding a certificate III or higher in sterilising services and working in sterilising services (clause 31). | $39.82 | $49.77 | $78,949 |
| Pay point 5 | $40.45 | $50.56 | $80,204 |
Enrolled Nurse Advanced Skills(Nurse Grade 4) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
Clinical nurse, specialist and consultant grades
Clinical Nurse/Midwife(Nurse Grade 6 Band 1) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
| Step | Hourly | Casual hourly | A year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay point 1 | $57.76 | $72.20 | $114,532 |
| Pay point 2 | $59.12 | $73.90 | $117,227 |
| Pay point 3 | $60.48 | $75.60 | $119,925 |
| Pay point 4 | $61.85 | $77.32 | $122,643 |
Band 1 pay point 1 is removed on 1 December 2027 and everyone above shifts down one number (clause 28). That does not change what anyone is paid now.
Associate Clinical Nurse/Midwife Consultant, Associate Nurse/Midwife Unit Manager, Associate Nurse/Midwife Manager, Associate Nurse/Midwife Educator, Associate Nurse/Midwife Researcher(Nurse Grade 6 Band 2) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
Unit managers and nursing management
Clinical Nurse/Midwife Consultant, Nurse/Midwife Unit Manager, Nurse/Midwife Manager, Nurse/Midwife Educator, Nurse/Midwife Researcher, Public Health Nurse, Nurse/Midwife Navigator, Nurse Practitioner Candidate(Nurse Grade 7) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
| Step | Hourly | Casual hourly | A year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay point 1 | $70.93 | $88.66 | $140,632 |
| Pay point 2 | $74.14 | $92.67 | $146,997 |
| Pay point 3 | $75.98 | $94.98 | $150,653 |
| Pay point 4 | $77.01 | $96.26 | $152,685 |
Queensland puts the clinical nurse consultant and the nurse unit manager on the same grade and the same money — a difference from NSW, where they are separate scales.
Director of Nursing/Midwifery — Remote(Nurse Grade 9) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
Assistant Director of Nursing/Midwifery, Director of Nursing/Midwifery — Rural(Nurse Grade 10) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
Nursing/Midwifery Director, Director of Nursing/Midwifery(Nurse Grade 11) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
| Step | A year |
|---|---|
| Single rate | $184,991 |
Nursing/Midwifery Director, Director of Nursing/Midwifery(Nurse Grade 12) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
| Step | A year |
|---|---|
| Single rate | $203,658 |
Health Service Director of Nursing/Midwifery, Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery(Nurse Grade 13) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
Nurse practitioners
Nurse Practitioner(Nurse Grade 8) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
| Step | Hourly | Casual hourly | A year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay point 1 | $79.86 | $99.82 | $158,344 |
| Pay point 2 | $81.85 | $102.31 | $162,283 |
| Pay point 3 | $83.38 | $104.22 | $165,320 |
A nurse practitioner allowance of $237.39 a fortnight is paid on top of these rates from 1 April 2026.
Assistants in nursing and undergraduate students
Assistant in Nursing/Midwifery(Nurse Grade 1 Band 1) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
Undergraduate Student in Nursing/Midwifery(Nurse Grade 2) pay rates
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025 — rates effective 1 April 2026
Which agreement covers you
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement (EB12) 2025
- Rates effective
- 1 April 2026
- Next change
- 1 April 2027, then 1 December 2027 — Queensland Health already publishes both tables
- Made or approved by
- Queensland Industrial Relations Commission
- Reference
- Certified agreement CB/2025/126
Queensland Health's wage schedule is the operative source: it carries a 0.5% CPI Uplift Adjustment applied in mid-2026 that the published agreement PDF does not yet show.
Nursing stream wage rates — wage rates from 1 April 2026Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health) Award — State 2015
- Rates effective
- 1 September 2023 (consolidated text)
- Made or approved by
- Queensland Industrial Relations Commission
The parent award supplies the shift and weekend penalties. The certified agreement also guarantees no employee is paid below the corresponding award rate.
Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health) Award — State 2015Shift penalties and weekend loadings in Queensland
From clause 15.12 — shift work and weekend penalties of the Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health) Award — State 2015.
| When you work | What it pays |
|---|---|
| Afternoon shiftShift starting at or after 1200 and before 1800. Nurse Grade 1 gets 15%. | +12.5% |
| Night shiftShift starting at or after 1800 and before 0730. Nurse Grade 1 gets 17.5%. | +20% |
| Saturday ordinary hoursFor all time up to and including 10 hours in the shift, 0000 to 2400 Saturday. | Time and one half |
| Sunday ordinary hours0000 to 2400 Sunday. Nurse Grade 1 employees are paid double time on Sunday. | Time and three quarters |
| Over 10 ordinary hours in a weekend shiftFor the hours beyond 10. | Double time |
Shift loadings do not stack on weekend penalties — the weekend rate replaces them. Public holiday rates sit in clause 23 and are not reproduced here.
What this page does not show
In the source, not reproduced here
- Assistant in Nursing — Sterilising Services (Nurse Grade 1 Band 2)
- Allowance schedules: hyperbaric, laundry, mental health environment, operating theatre, pharmacy, relieving in-charge, targeted training, X-ray and radium, endorsed midwife, RANIP isolation bonuses, on-call and professional development
Not verified, so not published
- Nurse Grade 5 pay point 8, which has no published rate until 1 December 2027
- Public holiday penalty rates (award clause 23)
- Overtime multipliers
QLD nurse pay questions
General rules that are not set by the QLD instrument are covered elsewhere: the Nurses Award 2020 floor for private and aged care work, penalty rates and salary packaging.
How these figures were checked▼
Read on 28 August 2026 from the sources below. Queensland Health publishes annual salaries directly.
Sources & References
- 1
- 2Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health) Award — State 2015 — rates effective 1 September 2023 (consolidated text)— Queensland Industrial Relations Commission
Last verified: 28 August 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.