Enrolled Nurse Salary in Australia by State (2026)

Enrolled nurses are paid under the same public-sector award or enterprise agreement as registered nurses in each state, on their own incremental scale. This guide sets out what ENs earn in every state: annually, per hour and after tax, plus how the EN scale compares with the RN scale. Every base figure is a verbatim rate from the named instrument.

• Salary by state
• EN vs RN
• Per hour
• After tax
• EN to RN
• FAQ
• Sources

Enrolled nurse salary by state

Base annual salary for ordinary hours, straight from each state's public-sector nursing award or agreement. Click a state for its full EN pay scale, every step included.

"Starting step" is the first standard step of each state's EN scale (trainee and pre-registration rows are skipped) and "top of scale" is its highest published EN step. States structure EN classifications differently: some publish separate with-medication, without-medication or advanced-skill EN scales, so the ladders are not identical across states. Each state page shows every step and variant.

How EN pay compares with RN pay

The EN scale sits below the RN scale in every state, and the size of the starting gap depends on where you are. The difference below is simply each state's published RN starting step minus its EN starting step.

The gap widens with seniority: the RN scale runs further, and the classifications above it (clinical nurse, nurse management) are open to RNs. That earning ceiling is the usual financial case for the EN to RN step-up. For the full national RN picture, see nurse salary in Australia.

Enrolled nurse pay per hour

Every state's scale is built on a 38-hour ordinary week, so hourly base pay is a clean like-for-like comparison. Starting EN base pay works out to $33.56 to $38.25 per ordinary hour; penalties are paid at loadings on top of these rates.

Hourly figures are derived the same way as on every state page: the award's weekly rate ÷ 38 ordinary hours (annual ↔ weekly via 52.18 weeks). Afternoon, night, weekend, public-holiday and overtime work is paid at state-specific loadings on top, calculated on the EN's own base rate; see the penalty rates guide.

Enrolled nurse salary after tax

Estimated take-home pay for a starting EN on base hours only, using the nurse take-home calculator's 2026–27 settings: income tax, 2% Medicare levy and a HECS/HELP repayment; no penalties, overtime or salary packaging. Open a row in the calculator to model your actual roster.

Two things reliably lift take-home above these base-hours figures: shift penalties, which most ENs earn every roster, and salary packaging, since most public-hospital nurses can package living expenses before tax; see salary packaging for nurses. The nurse take-home calculator models both for your state.

Stepping up from EN to RN

Becoming an EN takes a Diploma of Nursing, about two years; the step to RN is a Bachelor of Nursing, usually shortened by credit for the Diploma, then NMBA registration as an RN. The pay case is the two scales above; the pathway detail lives in the guides:

Frequently asked questions

Sources