Nurse practitioner recruitment for regional employers

Nurse practitioners are registered nurses endorsed by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. Within their scope of practice they assess and diagnose, prescribe medicines, order and interpret tests such as x-rays and blood tests, and refer people to medical or allied health specialists.⁵ The employer and the nurse practitioner agree that scope for the role.

Endorsement is a separate step after general registration as a registered nurse. It needs an approved or substantially equivalent program and the equivalent of three years' full-time advanced clinical nursing practice (5,000 hours) within the past six years.⁶ The endorsement appears on the nurse's listing on the national register.⁷

Since 1 November 2024, nurse practitioners no longer need a collaborative arrangement with a medical practitioner to provide Medicare services or prescribe Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines. The Australian Government confirmed the change did not affect state and territory governments.⁸ State and territory medicines laws still decide what a nurse practitioner may prescribe.

Where the Nurses Award 2020 covers the role, a nurse practitioner earns at least $1,877.00 a week, or $49.39 an hour, in the first year, and $1,932.70 a week in the second year, from 1 July 2026. Aged care employees have higher award minimums: $2,158.60 a week in the first year and $2,222.70 in the second.³

Nurse practitioners in public hospitals and health services are paid under their state's own instrument instead, such as the New South Wales Public Health System Nurses' and Midwives' (State) Award 2025¹⁷ or the Queensland Health EB12 certified agreement.¹⁸

There is no separate earnings figure for nurse practitioners. They are counted in the Registered Nurses group (ANZSCO 2544), whose national median full-time earnings were $2,192 a week in May 2025.⁴ That median covers all registered nurses, so we talk with you about the salary, allowances, housing and scope that will compete for a nurse practitioner in your location.

Start with the setting and the scope: aged care, primary care, emergency, mental health, a remote clinic or a specialist service, and what the nurse practitioner will assess, treat and prescribe. Tell us whether the role is new to your service, because a first nurse practitioner role needs a clear scope, a credentialing process and support from the rest of the team.

Then the practical details: whether you bill Medicare, the hours and on-call, travel between sites, who the nurse practitioner reports to, and the experience you expect in your clinical area.

The workforce is small, so the right person may live in another state. Nurse practitioners are experienced clinicians, and their median age in 2021 was 48.⁴ Tell us what support a sole or first nurse practitioner will have, and any help for a partner or family.

Tell us early about housing, relocation costs, a district or remote area allowance, professional development and how the role connects with local doctors and the nearest hospital. We raise them in the first conversation.

If the right person needs a visa or sponsorship, our sister business Australian Immigration Agency can advise.

Register with Hire Australia and tell us your endorsement, clinical area, the settings you have worked in and where you would like to work. We will talk with you about roles that fit your scope.