Registered nurse jobs in Melbourne

We are recruiting registered nurses in Melbourne metro/CBD, and surrounding areas of Victoria. Sanctuary Recruitment is an aged care recruitment consultancy that has many longstanding relationships with aged care homes across Australia, placing registered nurses in roles on a permanent, temporary, and contract basis.

Our large network of homes in Melbourne are hiring now, so we can assist you in finding your perfect registered nurse job. If you are a registered nurse residing in Melbourne, or looking to move interstate/overseas, get in contact 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.

Regsitered nurse jobs in Melbourne FAQs

Registered nurses in aged care homes are responsible for providing high quality care to residents on a physical, emotional and holistic level. To enter into the industry, the first clinical step is a personal care worker/assistant in nursing, and through upskilling you can step into the higher clinical role 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.

In Victoria, we have registered nurse positions in Melbourne and:

  • Albury
  • Belmont
  • Brunswick
  • Chirnside Park
  • Ringwood
  • Wodonga

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 have under this, 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.

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

Through working on a short term or ad-hoc 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
A guide to the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) and AN-ACC

First published: Demember 2024 For those receiving aged care services in residential aged care homes, the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) was used by the Australian Government to allocate subsidy amounts of residential aged care providers. Payments were based on the ongoing needs of residents and included a variety of factors such as activities of…

Transitioning into aged care

First published: November 2023 A non clinical perspective With the aged care industry being a part of the healthcare space, the common perception is that you need a nursing qualification to be eligible for a role in a residential aged care home. This is true for a large number of job positions, as clinical members…

Certificate IV in Aged Care pay rate guide

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 into Aged Care Quality…

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…

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…

Federal Budget 2025-26: what it means for aged care

First published: May 2025 The Federal Budget 2025-26 was announced on the 25th March 2025 which included economic forecasts and what areas would be allocated funding and financial backing this coming year. Covering areas such as the cost of living, housing prices, education, healthcare and student debt, it offers a projection of what each sector…

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…

Enhancing aged care: Pulse Staffing Australia and Sanctuary Recruitment to deliver PALM Aged Care Expansion Program

First published: July 2024 Quality aged care is vital for ensuring that elderly people live fulfilling, healthy lives with dignity and respect. Aligned with our purpose to improve people’s lives, Pulse Staffing Australia and Sanctuary Recruitment, both part of Acacium Group, have partnered to support the delivery of the 2024 PALM Aged Care Expansion Program….

On the road to remote care: my journey as a travel nurse in Western Australia

First published: February 2025 Travel nurses experience the unique thrill of packing their bags and spontaneously setting off on a new adventure. When the destination is Western Australia—home to stunning coastlines, vast outback, and a diverse healthcare landscape—the experience becomes something truly unforgettable. At Sanctuary, our contract team specialise in the placement of experienced and…

Aged care reform roadmap explained

First published: May 2024 The Department of Health and Aged Care have set a three-year roadmap to introduce aged care reforms to improve services delivered to the elderly population. These changes are being implemented with the aim to ensure all resources are of high quality, easily accessible and beneficial to the older people of Australia,…