Enrolled Nurse

An enrolled nurse delivers direct patient care in hospitals, aged care facilities, community health services, and other healthcare settings under the supervision of a registered nurse or medical practitioner. They perform clinical nursing tasks including wound care, medication administration, vital sign monitoring, and personal hygiene assistance, working within the scope of practice defined by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and AHPRA.

Administer medications via oral, intramuscular, intravenous, and topical routes according to prescriptions and AHPRA standards. Monitor and record patient vital signs including blood pressure, pulse, temperature, respiration, and oxygen saturation. Perform venepuncture and cannulation to collect blood samples and establish intravenous access. Assess and manage wounds including dressing changes, wound cleansing, and monitoring for signs of infection. Assist patients with activities of daily living including hygiene, dressing, toileting, and mobility. Insert and maintain urinary catheters and monitor catheter care and output. Prepare patients for medical examinations and surgical procedures by obtaining consent and explaining procedures. Document clinical observations and interventions in electronic health records and paper-based patient notes.

The standard entry pathway requires a diploma, advanced diploma or associate degree (ABS skill level 2). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

Medication errors, missed infections, or procedural mistakes directly affect patients. The role involves a lot of physical work (lifting, standing 12-hour shifts), exposure to bodily fluids and infectious diseases, and emotional labour with dying or distressed patients. It's regulated work with limited progression without further study.

Jobs concentrate in major cities and regional centres with hospitals and aged care facilities. Aged care is increasingly dominated by regional and outer-metro facilities. Remote work is not possible for direct patient care. Practical reality is you need to be near a hospital, aged care home, or community health service.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 4114, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Active Listeningcore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Case Note Documentationcore
• Confidentiality and Privacy Compliancecore
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligencecore
• Health Terminology Literacycore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Multitaskingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity
• Health Record Administration
• Participant or Client Advocacy
• Practice Management Software (e.g., Best Practice, MedicalDirector)
• Professional Boundaries Maintenance
• Referral Coordination
• Regulatory and Legislative Awareness
• Trauma-Informed Communication
• Written Communication

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

What Enrolled Nurse workers move into, from ten years of tax records.

Last updated: 30 October 2026