New South Wales Assistant in Nursing Pay 2025–26
Assistant in nursing is the entry door to a nursing career — and many AINs are nursing or enrolled-nursing students earning while they study. The pay scale is short, so the real value is the foot in the door and the pathway it opens.
In New South Wales public health, an assistant in nursing earns from $1,212.20 per week ($63,251 a year) to $1,330.00 ($69,398) across the scale — before shift penalties, allowances and overtime.
Becoming an assistant in nursing
An Assistant in Nursing (AIN — also called a nursing assistant or patient care assistant) gives hands-on care like hygiene, mobility, feeding, observations and ward support. AINs aren't nurses and have no scope of practice of their own: they work only on tasks delegated by, and under the supervision of, a Registered or Enrolled Nurse.
Full pathway: how to become an assistant in nursing in Australia →
Pay scale
Base rates, in force from 1 July 2025 — before penalties, allowances and overtime.
| Step | Weekly | Hourly | Annualised |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st year | $1,212.20 | $31.90 | $63,251 |
| 2nd year | $1,250.90 | $32.92 | $65,270 |
| 3rd year | $1,290.20 | $33.95 | $67,321 |
| 4th year and thereafter | $1,330.00 | $35.00 | $69,398 |
How to become an assistant in nursing
Ways to earn more
- The AIN scale runs from $1,212.20 to $1,330.00/wk across four years.
- The big step is qualifying: a Diploma of Nursing makes you an enrolled nurse (from $1,365.70/wk); a nursing degree registers you as an RN (from $1,521.10/wk).
- Shift penalties (nights and weekends), the remote-hospital loadings and salary packaging apply to AINs too.
Where it leads: enrolled nurse vs registered nurse
From an AIN role, the two routes into nursing practice are the enrolled-nurse (Diploma) and registered-nurse (degree) pathways. They're a real trade-off:
- No university degree — shorter and cheaper training
- Start earning as a nurse sooner
- Can later bridge across to registered nurse
- Lower pay ceiling — the EN scale tops out well below the RN scale
- Narrower scope of practice (you work under an RN)
- Less progression — no clinical-nurse, nurse-practitioner or management track
- Far higher ceiling and much more progression — clinical nurse, consultant, nurse practitioner, management/Director of Nursing
- Broader, more autonomous scope
- Postgraduate study keeps paying off (qualification allowances and higher grades)
- Three-year university degree — longer and more expensive
- More study before you start earning as a nurse
Allowances you can claim
On top of base pay — the allowances most relevant to this role.
Where it leads next
Qualify as an enrolled nurse or a registered nurse — each is a clear pay step up.
Step up from here: Enrolled Nurse · Registered Nurse — see exactly what each step takes →
Frequently asked questions
How much does an assistant in nursing earn in New South Wales?
What is the starting assistant in nursing salary in New South Wales?
Do New South Wales nurses get paid more for nights and weekends?
Annual, parental, long-service and study leave, plus overtime, on-call and the full allowance list, are set out in the New South Wales nurse pay & conditions guide.
Pay figures are drawn from the Public Health System Nurses' and Midwives' (State) Award 2025 (Serial C10152). Confirm your exact classification, step and allowances against the current instrument and your payslip.