How to become a agency or locum nurse in Australia
How to become an agency or locum nurse in Australia: AHPRA registration, CPD and recency of practice, National Police Check, joining an agency vs hospital bank, and how self-employed nurses are paid.
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (via AHPRA)
current AHPRA registration as a Registered or Enrolled Nurse required.
Typical Australian agency nurse rate (2026): base roughly $40-$70/hr depending on classification and state, with night, weekend, and public-holiday penalty loadings on top; specialist and remote placements higher.
A agency or locum nurse covers clinical work on a session-by-session basis for the organizations that need them, as a self-employed professional rather than a salaried employee. This guide walks through everything you need to do to start, in order, and the common pitfalls that catch people in their first year.
Step by step
Your path to your first booking
6 steps, in the order that actually keeps you booked and paid.
Current AHPRA registration and CPD
You need current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board through AHPRA and must meet the annual CPD (20 hours) and recency-of-practice requirements. Agencies ask for evidence of registration and CPD before placing you.
Choose hospital bank, agency, or direct
State health services run casual pools and nurse banks (paid as employees). Agency nursing places you across public and private facilities, often with penalty rates for nights, weekends, and public holidays. Some specialist and occupational-health work is contracted directly.
Understand how you are paid
Most agency and bank nursing is paid as employment (PAYG withholding and employer Super Guarantee) rather than as a contractor. Expect a base hourly rate plus penalty loadings. Genuinely self-employed nursing (private clients, occupational health, immunisation clinics) means invoicing under an ABN and funding your own super.
National Police Check + training compliance
You will need a recent National Police Check, a Working With Children Check (state-dependent), immunisation compliance, manual handling, and BLS. Most agencies provide mandatory e-learning; budget a couple of days a year to keep it current.
Track your hours and recency across employers
Recency of practice and CPD are tracked by you, not your employer, and casual work is split across many facilities. Keep a simple log of every shift with date, hours, and workplace. Sessional consolidates this across employers so nothing slips.
Get your tax status right
Agency and bank nursing is usually PAYG with super paid for you, so no business activity statement is needed. If you also invoice private clients you are a contractor for that income: ABN, GST once over $75,000, and your own super. Keep the two income types clearly separated.
Get organised
Documents to have ready
Keep these current and in one place. Sessional sends reminders 30 days before each expiry.
- AHPRA registration certificate
- CPD record (20 hours/year)
- National Police Check
- Working With Children Check (state-dependent)
- Immunisation evidence (Hep B, MMR, varicella, TB screen, COVID/flu per policy)
- Mandatory training certificates (BLS, manual handling)
6
Steps to your first booking, in order
6
Documents to keep current and in one place
4
First-year pitfalls to sidestep
30
Days notice before each expiry, so nothing lapses
Built for AHPRA-registered health professionals starting out as locums and sole traders.
Learn from others
First-year pitfalls
The mistakes that quietly cost new locums time, money, and bookings.
- Letting recency-of-practice hours fall short because shifts were split across agencies and never consolidated
- Working beyond your scope of practice on a shift because the ward was short-staffed
- Accepting shifts that quote a base rate without the penalty loadings you were expecting
- Assuming agency PAYG and a private-client invoice are taxed the same way; they are not
Keep going
Tools and guides to take next
Last reviewed April 2026. Rates and regulator details change. If something looks off, let us know.
Ready when you are
Every shift, every invoice, every dollar, from day one.
Sessional tracks every session, invoice, expense, and document, so you spend evenings with family, not spreadsheets. Free to start.
Start your locum agency or locum nurse career
Free to start. No card required.