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Australian Capital Territory Nurse Management (NUM / Director of Nursing) Pay 2025–26

The ACT's management track runs through Registered Nurse Levels 4 and 5 — nurse managers and directors of nursing — with pay set by the size and complexity of the service.

Pay scale

Base rates, in force from 4 December 2025 — before penalties, allowances and overtime. Entry/each step shown (4 December 2025).

GradeWeeklyHourlyAnnualised
Registered Nurse Level 4 Grade 1$2,767.61$72.83$144,410
Registered Nurse Level 4 Grade 2$2,955.35$77.77$154,206
Registered Nurse Level 4 Grade 3$3,142.94$82.71$163,994
Registered Nurse Level 5 Grade 4$3,357.47$88.35$175,188
Registered Nurse Level 5 Grade 5$3,732.95$98.24$194,780
Registered Nurse Level 5 Grade 6$4,108.41$108.12$214,371

Ways to earn more

  • Management grades run from $2,767.61 to $4,108.41/wk; your grade rises with the size and complexity of the unit or facility.
  • Directors of Nursing sit in the upper management grades — moving to a bigger facility is a direct pay step.

Allowances you can claim

On top of base pay — the allowances most relevant to this role.

Professional Development Allowance$750/yr (>=0.5 FTE, AHPRA-registered) or…
Annual cash allowance to support professional development, paid automatically in the first full pay period in July each year (from July 2024). $750 if you work at or…
Postgraduate / further-education qualification allowance$101.78–$175.00/fortnight (from 04/12/25);…
Fortnightly allowance for holding a qualification ADDITIONAL to the one needed to register. EN with further quals 3.5%; RN/RM Honours/Conversion degree or Postgrad…
Higher Duties AllowanceDifference up to the higher position's pay…
Payable when you perform the duties of a higher position. Counts for incremental progression and continues during paid leave you would otherwise have worked. Where the…
Uniform allowance$517.27/yr (from 04/12/25)
Paid where the head of service requires you to wear a uniform. NOT paid if the ACTPS provides the uniform. Most recent in-force rate is $517.27 per annum (column dated…
Laundry allowance$15.65/fortnight (from 04/12/25)
Paid where you are required to wear AND launder a uniform. Importantly, it is ALSO payable if you are NOT required to wear a uniform but perform clinical duties…
Salary packaging~$11,660/yr tax-free
As a public-hospital employee you can package about $9,010 of everyday expenses plus ~$2,650 of meal entertainment FBT-free, plus a novated car lease — and it doesn't reduce any penalty or allowance.

Leave, study & the full conditions

Leave and study support (annual, parental, long-service, study leave, the career-break scheme), the overtime, minimum-break and on-call rules, and the complete allowance list apply across all Australian Capital Territory nurse classifications — see the full Australian Capital Territory nurse pay & conditions guide.

Pay figures are drawn from the ACT Public Sector Nursing and Midwifery Enterprise Agreement 2023-2026. Confirm your exact classification, step and allowances against the current instrument and your payslip.