Enrolled nursing jobs in Cairns

Sanctuary Recruitment is Australia's leading aged care recruitment agency that specialises in placing enrolled nurses and aged care professionals in roles across the country on a temporary, permanent and contract basis. We have strong relationships with private and non-for-profit providers and are able to find you a position, or staff that meet your requirements and needs.

If you are an enrolled nurse and are looking for a new position in Cairns, or would like to travel the country with us, send in your resume and view our available jobs today.

Register with Sanctuary

register with sanctuary

Express your interest

Send in your resume or register your interest and our industry expert consultants will be in contact.

register with sanctuary

Prepare for work

Complete the onboarding process and become fully compliant. Our compliance team can help you through this step by step.

register with sanctuary

Being working with Sanctuary

Choose from 100's of roles that suit your needs, values and requirements.

Enrolled Nurse Jobs in Cairns FAQs

Enrolled nurses are AHPRA registered healthcare professionals who provide direct patient/resident care in an array of medical settings. The difference between an enrolled nurse and a registered nurse is their scope of practice - registered nurses have more responsibilities and duties than an enrolled nurse.

Enrolled nurses in aged care often enter the industry either through an entry level role such as an Assistant in nursing/personal care worker and then upskilling. or by studying the relevant course and entering at in this role.

Our enrolled nursing roles cover Australia wide areas. We have a large network of homes in metro, regional, rural and remote areas of the country.

Reach out today if you are looking for a role in Cairns or across Queensland, in areas such as:

  • Bribie Island
  • Brisbane
  • Gold Coast
  • Sunshine Coast
  • Toowoomba
  • Townsville
  • Wide Bay

Pay rates for enrolled nurses are broken down in the Aged Care and Nurses Award. There are various pay points that are dependent on your experience, location, job title and setting. The average enrolled nurse casual pay rates are in-between $31 - $76 per hour

For short term contract placements across the country, we offer allowances, incentives and bonuses depending on the placement. The aged care industry is evolving, with the aged care reform roadmap leading to a pay rise for the aged care sector in recent years, with changes to come.

For our enrolled nurses, we generally require a minimum of 6 months Australian aged care experience for our metro and casual nursing pool. Get in touch today if your experience doesn't reach this, as some of our clients accept newer grads.

Enrolled nurses are required to have completed a 2 year Diploma of Nursing course. This is  completed at an educational institution, made up of both practical and theoretical assessments. Eligible students can receive fee-free courses through TAFE.

You can work as an enrolled nurse on a temporary/casual and contract basis. Temporary work allows you to fill ad-hoc shifts when you like, whether it is last minute cancellations or block bookings. Contract assignments are often full time placements starting from 4 weeks in regional and remote areas of the country.

We have a Learning Management System (LMS) that allows for our nurses to educate and refresh their knowledge so they are ready for work. This is regularly updated to reflect legislation and is role specific, at no cost to you.

Through working on a casual/temporary basis, you can:

  • Decide when and where you work
  • Explore areas of the country whilst getting paid for it, with free travel and accommodation included.
  • Judge the work/life balance you want to implement
  • Receive casual loading hourly pay rates

Rewards and benefits

market leading pay rates

Market leading pay rates

bonuses and incentives

Bonuses and incentives

industry expert consultants

Industry expert consultants

discount programs

Discount programs

Free online education modules

Free online education modules

Referral scheme

Referral scheme

Aged care blog
Touchdown for our PALM Scheme class of 2024!

First published: March 2025 On Tuesday 4th March our PALM Scheme Class of 2024 arrived in Melbourne, Victoria, marking the start of their four year journey in Australia, making a difference in residential aged care homes in Mildura and Port Macquarie for Regis Aged Care. Under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme, 40 participants…

Aged care pay rise increases in 2025

Revised March 2025 As part of the aged care reform roadmap, a further aged care pay rise has been implemented this year. On 1 January 2025, a 3% increase was added to pay rates for general workers under the Aged Care Award.  Aged care pay rise 2025 breakdown  From 1 January 2025, general workers covered…

What is the Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS)?

The Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) is a government initiative and subsequent reporting system implemented to reduce abuse and neglect of older people receiving aged care services. SIRS is a mandatory requirement for approved aged care providers, including residential aged care homes and home care services (encompassing Home Care Packages, the Commonwealth Home Support Programme…

What is home care?

First published: April 2025 Home care, or care at home, is the support and assistance provided by healthcare professionals to allow those who need a helping hand to live independently at home for longer. The number of people wanting to remain at home is increasing, with 80% of older people opting to continue to live…

One year on: what quality workforce support looks like in practice

By Rhiannon Dhoot, Client Relationship Manager at Sanctuary Recruitment Over the past eight months, I’ve spent a lot of time visiting aged care homes across NSW and speaking with Facility Managers, rostering teams and staff. As we approach one year since the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards came into effect on 1 November 2025, it…

Once in a generation aged care reform

First published: September 2024 On the 12th September 2024 the Albanese Government announced their plans to deliver historic aged care reforms, with $5.6 billion being invested into a package that will bring the greatest improvement to aged care in 30 years. It is projected that within the next 40 years, those aged 65 and over…

Care minutes in residential aged care

First published: November 2024 As part of the aged care reform roadmap, the Department of Health and Aged Care are making changes to the number of direct care minutes a resident in residential aged care receives each day from a clinical aged care worker. As of 2023, it sat at 200 minutes per day with…

Establishing and maintaining work role boundaries in aged care

First published: November 2024 Working in the aged care industry gives you opportunity to develop close relationships with the residents in your care. The superheroes that are healthcare professionals understand their patients and residents on a deeper level, especially in aged care as nurses can be interacting with the same residents for years. Work role…

How to become a remote area nurse in Australia

Remote area nurses are skilled medical professionals who keep rural and isolated communities safe and well across Australia. In this article, we’ll look at how to become a remote area nurse, what the role entails and the benefits of taking this career path. How do I become a remote area nurse? In Australia, to become…

Aged care worker salary earnings in Australia in 2025

Revised January 2025 An aged care worker salary in Australia is increasing with the demand. It was reported that there is a need for at least 110,000 direct aged care workers across the country in the next decade. The aged care industry is made up of many different roles, both clinical and non-clinical, with a variety…