To become a Registered Nurse in Australia generally requires the completion of a Bachelor of Nursing. There are undergraduate and postgraduate courses that you can complete to become a Registered Nurse.

Undergraduate entry into Nursing

For entry into a university nursing course commencing in 2022, the ATAR ranged from the 60s to the low-90s. When combined with another Bachelor’s degree such as midwifery or psychology, the ATAR was often in the 80s, and up to the high 90s for the double degrees. It is important to note that many universities require pre-requisite subjects to be completed before you can gain entry into a nursing degree.

The following tables show the ATAR scores that were required to enter each undergraduate course at the beginning of 2022 in the various states throughout Australia. Please note that this is a rough guide only for future years as it changes from year to year depending on the applications each university receives.

All courses will include clinical placements. There are a range of requirements before starting a clinical placement. This could include:

• A working with children check (Blue Card)
• A national criminal history check
• Compliance with the vaccination requirements of the health facility you will be visiting
• A current Senior First Aid certificate
• A current CPR certificate
• Completion of a cultural training sensitivity module to be able to provide culturally safe care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients
• Student orientation requirements of the health facility you will be visiting

Postgraduate entry into Nursing

There is a postgraduate pathway that is available at more than 10 universities around Australia. You will require an undergraduate degree (or equivalent) for entry into these courses. You may also need to have completed certain pre-requisite subjects in your undergraduate degree, submit your curriculum vitae (CV), academic transcript and supplementary information for entry into postgraduate nursing courses.

A list of postgraduate courses to become a Registered Nurse in Australia in 2022 is in the table below. It is also worth noting that some of the courses shown in the table are pathways for Enrolled Nurses to become Registered Nurses:

All courses will include clinical placements. There are a range of requirements before starting a clinical placement. This could include:

• A working with children check (Blue Card)
• A national criminal history check
• Compliance with the vaccination requirements of the health facility you will be visiting
• A current Senior First Aid certificate
• A current CPR certificate
• Completion of a cultural training sensitivity module to be able to provide culturally safe care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients
• Student orientation requirements of the health facility you will be visiting

Current list of approved programs of study to become a nurse

The information presented in this article was correct at the time of publishing. Please check with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency for an up to date list of approved programs of study to become a nurse in Australia.

If you would like to find courses to become a registered nurse:
1. Go to https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Accreditation/Approved-Programs-of-Study.aspx
2. In Profession select Nurse
3. In Country make the appropriate selection – for example, Australia
4. In Qualification Type select General
5. In Division select Registered Nurse (Division 1)
6. Click Search

More resources on My Health Career

• The best and worst parts about being a nurse
• Videos about a career in nursing
• Being a nurse – and loving it. By Jennifer Smith

Disclaimer

This information is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. My Health Career accepts no responsibility for ensuring that you enrol in a course that is right for you. Please do your own research to ensure that you enrol in the correct course, especially if you are considering an undergraduate biomedicine, health science or biomedical science degree as a pathway to a postgraduate course. This may include speaking with a careers advisor, guidance officer, career development practitioner, representatives of the Nursing and Midwifery Federation of Australia and other industry organisations, and admissions officers from the university or universities you are looking at applying to.