The nursing profession in Australia is one of the most diverse and productive jobs that has a broad area of employment in various specialities. Nurses are an essential part of the healthcare system. They provide patient care in different hospitals, clinics and other facilities in the community.
Being a profession in demand, all around the world the job comes with lots of well-rewarded opportunities. Some of the things that make a difference in terms of pay for nurses in Australia include; experience, education, specialisation, geographical location, and type of organisation. Employees are paid better due to better education, Skills, and experience possessed by them in their respective fields or sectors of the economy.
In this article, the focus will be on revealing the 10 Highest Paid Nursing Jobs in Australia in 2024: the position, required education, and average pay.
1. Critical Care Nurse
Critical Care Nurses, also known as intensive care nurses, provide critical care to their patients who require special attention and close monitoring. Their workplaces are usually severe patient treatment centres such as ICU, CCU, or NICU. These are the nurses who dispense medicines and are supposed to monitor as well as care for the patients, they also use specialised tools in their work.
Qualifications and Role
Critical care nurses are usually trained through a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) which makes the career a presumed one for those nurses. After this, aspiring critical care nurses typically seek certification through the organisations that offer certification in critical care nursing and this comes with part theoretical and part clinical training in acute care facilities.
Such specialisation entails more than technical competence, professional demeanour, and aptitudes for effective performance in pressure-cooker circumstances, and making decisive choices at short notice in incomprehensible and threatening situations.
Average Salary
The annual pay of the critical care nurse in Australia is about AUD 100,000 on average. However, there are opportunities for salary increases depending on the level of the professional; or level of certification attained.
2. Nurse Practitioner
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are educated at the Master’s degree level to specialise and deal with a wide scope of health-related issues, which enables them to assess, diagnose and treat patients, usually in an independent way, like physicians do. These are allowed to prescribe drugs and admission or discharge patients in different care settings hence increasing the capacity of the health system to deliver quality health care.
Qualifications and Role
The primary education requirement for a nurse practitioner is a Master’s degree in Nursing and the candidate must accumulate experience hours in different nursing specialty areas such as paediatric or family medicine. Secondly, they have to meet registration obligations provided by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). They have to pass a rigorous final test as well as undergo professional development activities.
Average Salary
The basic annual salary of a nurse practitioner in Australia can range from AUD 70,000 to AUD 120,000 depending on the speciality, years of practice, and area of practice in Australia.
3. Mental Health Nurse
Mental health nurses are professionals who focus on the treatment of people with various psychological diseases or emotional issues. These employees are crucial in the provision of good quality, care, medication, and therapeutic consumers, especially in building relationships during consumer challenging moments in their lives.
Qualifications and Role
Generally, a mental health nurse has a nursing degree as well as possibly a post-registration qualification in mental health. One must register with the NMBA and must make sure that they will continue their education to refresh the current practices in the job market. Many people skills are involved in this line of work including good interpersonal communication, understanding, and how to handle a crisis.
Average Salary
The mean salary of a Mental Health nurse in Australia is about $85,000 and likely the compensation can increase from the additional experience and certification in the speciality of mental health fields.
4. Nurse Anaesthetist
CRNA or the Certified Registered Nurse Anaesthetist is responsible for administering anaesthesia care for surgical procedures and other medical interventions. They make comprehensive evaluations, apply anaesthesia agents as well as constantly observe and record the clients’ vital signs during and after operations for the safety and comfort of the clients.
Qualifications and Role
For one to practise as a Certified Nurse Anaesthetist he or she needs to complete a Master’s degree in Nurse Anaesthesia and should have the right experiences in anaesthesia procedures. Moreover, passing the certification exam by the appropriate board is necessary; conversely, the ability to operate in high stakes and complicated scenarios in the surgical practice is crucial.
Average Salary
The crna salary in Australia is rather lucrative and is usually between AUD 150,000 to AUD 250,000 per year, which makes it one of the best paid positions in the field of nursing.
5. Nurse Educator
Nurse educators play a cost of stewardship in educating the future generation of nurses through delivery of instructional information in academic, institutional, and clinical domains. Their responsibilities include curriculum implementation of educational methodologies, teaching components of nursing theory and practice, student guidance and support, and the generation of new and improved pedagogy of nursing.
Qualifications and Role
A standard process of qualification of a nurse educator who teaches a nursing course requires a Master’s degree in Nursing or Education and experience in a clinical practice or academic nursing program. It is also common for advanced positions in higher education institutions to perform a Doctorate in Nursing or in a related field especially when it comes to academic positions or positions as educational administrators.
Average Salary
The nurse educator is paid $ 95,000 per annum In Australia, though the pay can increase depending on the education level or if the person is working in any other special training teaching institute.
6. Paediatric Nurse
Paediatric nurses specialise in the care of infants, children, and adolescents. Their responsibilities include conducting routine health assessments, administering vaccinations, and providing emergency care tailored to the unique needs of younger patients.
Qualifications and Role
To become a paediatric nurse, individuals typically need to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing along with experience in paediatric care. Certification through the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) is also beneficial and often required for specialised positions.
Average Salary
The average paediatric nurse salary generally falls between AUD 80,000 to AUD 90,000 annually, with variations dependent on experience and specific workplace settings such as hospitals or outpatient clinics.
7. Nurse Researcher
Nurse researchers use science for knowledge advancement of the discipline to inform the nursing practice. They improve the care of a patient and are useful in helping to shape the practices that are put in place and the policies that are made to be adopted within the provision of healthcare services.
Qualifications and Role
The majority of nurse researchers possess a doctoral degree as a PhD or DNP holder or an equivalent level of education in a closely related area and years of clinical practice, and methodological experience. Some of them engage with healthcare organisations to develop research undertakings, derive results, share information, and thus promote the development of new strategies in the management of patients.
Average Salary
The salary of the nurse researchers may range from AUD 85,000 up to AUD 150,000 depending on the type of research being conducted and the experience of the nurse researcher.
8. Oncology Nurse
Oncology nurses offer care and support to cancer patients as they have specialised in this field of treatment. They are involved not only in the assessment, monitoring, and alleviation of the symptoms, and administration of chemotherapy but also in providing information as well as emotional support to the patients during the course of the therapy.
Qualifications and Role
In order to become an oncology nurse, one has to possess a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and pass certain examinations depending on the type of oncology nursing he/she wants to pursue. Most importantly, oncology nursing specialisation is very strategic because it prepares persons for complex roles needed in implementing treatment options relating to cancer.
Average Salary
Oncology nurses in Australia are paid around AUD 90, 000 per year with an opportunity to earn higher based on the certification or leadership of an oncology department.
9. Geriatric Nurse
Geriatric nurses specialise in the care of the elderly that would include their medical needs. They perform extensive evaluations and individualised treatments in order to increase a patient’s quality of life when he or she is faced with ageing conditions.
Qualifications and Role
Nursing is a mandatory prerequisite, and most employers require gerontology-specific training. This knowledge empowers nurses to cater for the diverse physical, psychological and social problems prevailing among the elderly.
Average Salary
The remuneration of geriatric nurses is about AUD 80,000 per year and can be higher if the nurse works in specialised geriatric care facilities or has the experience of an advanced practice nurse.
10. Flight Nurse
They are involved in the provision of care transport whether in a helicopter or an aircraft. This is as a result of training in handling emergency stressful situations while in transit and they collaborate with flight paramedics and pilots in handling the patients.
Qualifications Required
Flight nurses have to be registered nurses, and have to work in a critical or emergency unit, and then undertake training in flight nursing. Other ways of improving on qualification include certification through Flight Nurses Australia among others.
Average Salary
The estimated salary for a flight nurse in Australia is around 100,000 AUD annually while a more experienced flight nurse could earn 120 thousand AUD per year.
Bonus Nursing Jobs
# Nurse Midwife
Nurse midwives provide women’s health care services including family planning, preconception, prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum periods, postnatal care, and gynaecological care. They practise in homes, communities, hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare settings.
Qualifications Required
A Registered Nurse who wishes to become a Nurse Midwife must first complete the Master’s Degree in midwifery and successfully pass the examination of the NMBA. Other courses that may further enhance a Nurse Midwife’s resume are the Neonatal Resuscitation Certification and the Obstetric Advanced Certification.
Average Salary
On average, a midwifery nurse makes around AUD 110,000 per year in Australia. Salaries can be further increased with the increase in experience and acquisition of additional certificates and diplomas.
# Emergency Room Nurse
Emergency nurses are professionals in the emergency department of hospitals and are entrusted with the care of patients suffering from serious conditions that need immediate care. They are specialised in working under stressful conditions, they have high skills diagnosing and managing patients in critical situations.
Qualifications Required
An emergency room nurse should have a licence of a registered nurse with experience in emergency care and the requirements for a Graduate Certificate in Emergency Nursing. In Addition to that most of the ER nurses also hold other certifications like the Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) to get more skills when dealing with critical cases.
Average Salary
Emergency room nurses can expect to make an average salary of Australian Dollar 95,000 per year.
# Surgical Nurse
Surgical nurses (also known as perioperative nurses) assist surgeons and anaesthetists during surgeries, and undertake tasks before and after surgeries being carried out. They are employed by working in hospital operating theatres, and in separate departments such as day surgeries in pre-admission clinics and at ward level.
Qualifications Required
To become a surgical nurse, you need to be a registered nurse and undertake further study in the area of perioperative nursing i.e. Graduate Certificate in Perioperative Nursing. Advancement in your career and pay can be achieved through professional bodies such as Australian College of Perioperative Nurses (ACORN).
Average Salary
A surgical nurse makes on an average AUD 100,000 per year in Australia. Surgical nurses who have leadership role or have significant work experience can earn between AUD 110 000 and AUD 130 000.
Take the Next Step in Your Nursing Career Today with Grace Int’l
The nursing profession presents a number of well-paying employment opportunities in Australia as you can see there are various subfields within the nursing careers that one can pursue and promote.
Hence, nurses can improve their employment opportunities as well as their income by acquiring more education, training, and certifications relevant to these high-paid positions.
Grace International offers popular courses related to health, among which nursing is also offered. For those who are interested in nursing, you can call us at +61 (03) 9662 9020 or contact us for more services.
