Registered nurse jobs in Cairns

Sanctuary Recruitment is recruiting registered nurses in Cairns city and surroundings, with opportunities available in more rural and remote regions of Queensland. We are a specialist aged care recruitment consultancy that provides aged care professionals with placements that suit their needs and values across Australia. We are hiring aged care workers for permanent, temporary, and contract assignments.

We are committed to assisting you in making your next aged care career role, so if you are a registered nurse in Cairns, or looking to move interstate/from overseas, get in touch with us 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.

Registered nurse jobs in Cairns FAQ

Registered nurses in aged care homes are responsible for providing high quality care to residents on a holistic level. To enter into the industry, a fantastic way is to pursue a relevant qualification for an Assistant in nursing/personal care worker role, and through upskilling you can step into the position of a registered nurse.

We have longstanding relationships with over 400 aged care homes across Australia, in metro, regional, rural and remote areas of the country.

As well as Cairns, in Queensland we have positions in:

  • Brisbane
  • Bribie Island
  • Bundaberg
  • Darling Downs
  • Gold Coast
  • Far North QLD
  • Sunshine Coast
  • Toowoomba
  • Townsville
  • Wide Bay

There are a lot of variances when it comes to pay rates, as aged care casual rates depend on your position, experience level and shift times that you work. The average registered nurse casual pay rates are in-between $50 - $120 per hour

Incentives, allowances and bonuses are applicable for certain contract placements and locations. Reforms in aged care have led to pay rises for aged care workers in recent years, with more developments to come.

As a rule of thumb, you need 1 year of Australian aged care experience to work on our casual registered nurse pool. If you haven't reached this yet, get in contact as we do have opportunity for new/recent graduates to work in a few of our homes

For registered nurses, you would need a Bachelor of Nursing which is a three year university degree. This is made up of theoretical and practical assessments. If you are a qualified overseas nurse, you can get your qualification converted in line with AHPRA regulations, and obtain a sponsorship if you meet the eligibility requirements.

We are recruiting registered nurses for temporary/casual and contract assignments. Casual work, or shift filling, is done on an ad-hoc or block booking basis. Contract roles range from 4 weeks - 3 months in rural, regional and remote areas of the country.

Absolutely. We offer continuous online training via our Learning Management System (LMS) at no extra cost to you. This is regularly updated to reflect new legislation and practices.

Through working on a casual basis, you can:

  • Structure your work day/week to your schedule
  • Through our contract roles, you can explore areas of the country whilst getting paid for it, with free travel and accommodation included.
  • Set your own work/life balance
  • Receive a higher hourly rate than if you were a permanent employee

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
Certificate IV in Aged Care pay rate guide

First published: June 2025 Certificate IV in Aged Care pay rates are set by the Aged Care Award. Recent reforms in the aged care sector have led to aged care workers in Australia receiving multiple pay rises in the past few years due to an investigation into workforce attraction and retention via the Royal Commission…

Celebrating International Nurses Day

First published: May 2024 International Nurses Day, celebrated around the world on the 12th May each year, recognises the importance of healthcare professionals, in particular recognising the role that nurses play in our society. This day, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, calls to our attention the unwavering commitment that nurses show everyday across every…

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…

Day in the life of an aged care registered nurse

Aged care nursing is fast paced and deeply rewarding. Every shift brings new challenges and the chance to make a real difference in someone’s day. It’s a career built on compassion, skill and a commitment to ensuring each patients needs are met and their voices are heard. Within this blog, we will outline what a…

Remote area nurse salary guide in Australia

Published: December 2025 Remote area nurses deliver healthcare services to rural communities. Access to care in these sparsely populated areas is usually limited, so remote area nurses travel in from across the country to provide it. They are often contracted to be in one area for a specific amount of time, temporarily alleviating staffing shortages.  Within our remote area nurse salary guide, we will explore what you can earn as a remote area nurse, ways to…

Migration stories: From the Philippines to Australia

First published: February 2024 What moving overseas to Australia as a registered nurse looks like Australia is a very multicultural country and its nurses are from a range of different backgrounds. It is estimated that 40% of Australia’s registered nurses and aged carers were born overseas, with this number forecasted to grow in the coming…

Journeying through care: insights from a travel nurse exploring Western Australia

First published: February 2025 In the ever-evolving world of healthcare, travel nursing offers a unique opportunity for nursing professionals to expand their horizons while making a significant impact on patient and resident care across different regions of the country. Our contract team oversees short and long-term assignments in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia,…

10 common aged care interview questions for PCAs 

First published: July 2025 Aged care interview questions for personal care assistants (PCAs) are designed to understand your skills, experience and motivations for working in the sector.  In this article, we share 10 common aged care interview questions for PCAs, along with examples of how to answer them. Considering these questions ahead of your interview…

The resilience of the aged care industry

First published: October 2023 How to overcome aged care hidden hurdles “The staff were the most vital asset in this situation, the power of the team really shone through during this time” Being part of the world of aged care usually means your general workday is fast-paced and constantly changing, but we often know what…

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…