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Western Australia Clinical Nurse (senior clinical grades) Pay 2025–26

WA's senior clinical grades — the senior registered nurse/midwife levels — sit above the base RN scale, rewarding qualifications and experience.

In Western Australia public health, a clinical nurse earns from $2,476.17 per week ($129,203 a year) to $3,149.95 ($164,360) across the scale — before shift penalties, allowances and overtime.

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The senior clinical grades start around $2,476.17/wk (Senior Registered Nurse/Midwife (SRN/M) Level 1) — well above the top of the base RN scale. Stepping into them with the right postgraduate qualifications and specialty experience is the largest pay jump available without moving into management.

Becoming a clinical nurse

The senior clinical track for RNs who go deep in one specialty rather than into management — Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Clinical Nurse Consultant (CNC) and Nurse Educator, and at the top the Nurse Practitioner (NP), who can autonomously assess, diagnose, prescribe and refer within scope.

Full pathway: how to become a clinical nurse in Australia →

Pay scale

Base rates, in force from 12 October 2025 — before penalties, allowances and overtime. Entry/each step shown (12 October 2025).

Grade	Weekly	Hourly	Annualised
Senior Registered Nurse/Midwife (SRN/M) Level 1	$2,476.17	$65.16	$129,203
Senior Registered Nurse/Midwife (SRN/M) Level 2	$2,552.48	$67.17	$133,185
Senior Registered Nurse/Midwife (SRN/M) Level 3	$2,631.23	$69.24	$137,294
Senior Registered Nurse/Midwife (SRN/M) Level 4	$2,712.51	$71.38	$141,535
Senior Registered Nurse/Midwife (SRN/M) Level 5	$2,796.44	$73.59	$145,914
Senior Registered Nurse/Midwife (SRN/M) Level 6	$2,967.77	$78.10	$154,854
Senior Registered Nurse/Midwife (SRN/M) Level 7	$3,149.95	$82.89	$164,360

Ways to earn more

The senior clinical grades step from $2,476.17/wk (SRN/M Level 1) to $3,149.95/wk (Level 7) — the Level 1 entry alone is over $430/wk above the top of the base RN scale.
Appointment to SRN/M Level 1 is by selection (or reclassification) into a role with a clinical, management, research or teaching emphasis — there is no fixed years-in-specialty bar in the agreement; the higher senior levels carry larger ward/team responsibilities.
Hold a relevant postgraduate qualification: the qualification allowance stacks on top of your senior rate — $3,732 (Grad Cert), $4,798 (Grad Dip) or $5,865/yr (Masters/PhD) from 12 Oct 2025.
Senior clinical shift work still attracts the penalties — 35% for a night shift, 50% Saturday, 75% Sunday on your ordinary rate.
Salary-package about $11,660/yr tax-free on top of your senior base.

CNS, CNC and Nurse Educator are pay classifications set by each state's nursing award — eligibility (years of experience, whether a postgraduate qualification is mandatory) varies by state and employer, and holding a Master's alone doesn't confer the grade. Only Nurse Practitioner is a fixed national NMBA endorsement.

Allowances you can claim

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

Qualification allowance3.5% / 4.5% / 5.5% of base; $3,732 / $4,798 / $5,865 a year (from 12 October 2025).

Paid to full-time and part-time RNs and Midwives who hold/acquire a qualification relevant to their current practice. Three levels: Level 1 = Graduate Certificate; Level 2 = Graduate Diploma; Level 3 = a Masters or PhD relevant to the area of practice.

Remote Area Nurse — overtime buy-out allowance25% of base salary, paid fortnightly.

Remote area nurses (employed as the 24-hour health-care provider in an isolated community at listed Group A/B sites) are paid an annual allowance equal to 25% of base salary, paid fortnightly in lieu of overtime, and pro-rated where the nurse is not employed in a remote area full-time.

Remote Area Nurse — isolation leave1 week per 12 weeks (Group A); 1 week per 24 weeks (Group B).

Isolation leave compensates remote area nurses for long continuous on-call periods and is taken as recreation leave (not for staff development). Group A sites: 1 week after every 12 weeks worked; Group B sites: 1 week after every 24 weeks.

Recall to work minimum paymentMinimum 3 hours at the appropriate overtime rate.

A recalled non-casual employee is paid a minimum of 3 hours at the appropriate overtime rate. Free transport home-to-hospital-and-return is provided, or the motor vehicle allowance is paid for the journey instead.

Uniform allowance$10.90 per week (12 Oct 2025)

Where the Employer does NOT provide a uniform free of charge, it reimburses a weekly uniform allowance provided the employee conforms to the employer's uniform standard.

Laundry allowance$3.49 per week (12 Oct 2025)

Where a uniform is required and is NOT laundered by the hospital, the employee is reimbursed a weekly laundry allowance. Claimable in addition to the uniform allowance.

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.

Where it leads next

Step up from here: Clinical Nurse Consultant (CNC) · Nurse Practitioner (NP) · Nurse management — see exactly what each step takes →

Frequently asked questions

How much does a clinical nurse earn in Western Australia?

In Western Australia public health, a clinical nurse earns from $2,476.17 per week ($129,203 a year) to $3,149.95 ($164,360) across the scale — before shift penalties, allowances and overtime.

What is the starting clinical nurse salary in Western Australia?

A first-step clinical nurse in Western Australia starts at $2,476.17 per week — about $129,203 a year ($65.16 an hour) before penalties and allowances.

Do Western Australia nurses get paid more for nights and weekends?

Yes — on top of base pay, Western Australia public-health nurses receive shift loadings for afternoon, night and weekend work, plus overtime and a range of allowances.

Annual, parental, long-service and study leave, plus overtime, on-call and the full allowance list, are set out in the Western Australia nurse pay & conditions guide.

Pay figures are drawn from the WA Health System – ANF Industrial Agreement 2024. Confirm your exact classification, step and allowances against the current instrument and your payslip.