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Occupations / Registered Nurses

Registered Nurses

Registered Nurses provide nursing care to patients in hospitals, aged care and other health care facilities, and in the community.

HealthANZSCO 2544
$2,192/wkMedian full-time pay
366kPeople employed
+26% ▲Growth to 2035
56%Work full time
38Median age
Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 2544.More about our sources: How we check our facts

What they do

The main tasks of this occupation, from the national occupation standard.

assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating nursing care for patients according to accepted nursing practice and standardsworking in consultation with other health professionals and members of health teams, and coordinating the care of patientsproviding interventions, treatments and therapies such as medications, and monitoring responses to treatment and care planpromoting health and assisting in preventing ill health by participating in health education and other health promotion activitiesanswering questions and providing information to patients and families about treatment and caresupervising and coordinating the work of enrolled nurses and other health care workers
Source: JSA occupation profileTask list from the Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile for ANZSCO 2544 (ANZSCO task statements).More about our sources: How we check our facts

The outlook

Room for 94,800 more people in registered nurses by 2035 ▲

The field grew 3.6% in the year to February 2026, adding about 12,600 workers. Most of the jobs are in VIC and NSW, with QLD third.

Source: JSA · ABS, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 2544.More about our sources: How we check our facts
363.8k2025
413.5k2030 PROJ.
458.6k2035 PROJ.

Getting in

8 in ten people here have a degree. You can still get in without one.

12% came through a VET qualification. These are the nationally recognised courses mapped to this occupation, with the number of registered training providers that offer each one.

Source: JSA · training.gov.auEducation split: JSA (Jobs and Skills Australia) occupation profile, using ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Census data, ANZSCO 2544. Qualification mapping and provider counts: training.gov.au, the national register of vocational education, October 2026. Listed providers are current registered training providers (private providers and TAFE institutes).More about our sources: How we check our facts

Nationally recognised training · most offered first

11234NATGraduate Diploma

Graduate Diploma of Prevention and Management of Acute Behavioural Disturbance

See 0 providers

Providers are shown in A-Z order on each course page. A listing is not a recommendation.

Jobs open right now

366k Australians do this work. See who is hiring this month.

Search job ads by state

Each link opens seek.com.au in a new tab, showing ads posted in the last month. SEEK is a job site; we link there because that is where most Australian jobs are advertised. We have no commercial relationship with SEEK.

Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26State chart shows people employed, not current job ads. ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 2544.More about our sources: How we check our facts

People employed by state, 2025-26

VIC102.2k
NSW96.4k
QLD81.6k
WA39.5k
SA27.2k
TAS7.4k
ACT4.8k
NT4.5k