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Veterinary Nurse salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a veterinary nurse is $86,700 per annum, before tax, up $18,000 since 2018.
- Pay is usually set by the Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award or a clinic's enterprise agreement, so it moves with your qualification level and years on the job rather than with how busy a particular week is.
- Weekend, public holiday and after-hours shifts attract penalty rates, and emergency hospitals that provide overnight cover often pay above a weekday-only practice.
The median salary rose by $18,000 between 2018 and 2024; the dashed line shows a projection to 2028 based on the real ABS Wage Price Index growth rate, not a role-specific forecast.
Roles that pay more than veterinary nurse
The largest typical pay rise is $38,800 a year, moving into Veterinarian.
- Veterinarian+$38,800/yr
How to negotiate a higher veterinary nurse salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time veterinary nurse salary is $86,700; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Lead with what's scarce, not just tenure. Skills like Patient care and support and Clinical assessment and treatment tend to command a premium over general veterinary nurse experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Veterinarian pays a typical $38,800 a year more and draws on similar skills, even mentioning you're weighing it up is a legitimate data point in a pay conversation.
- Time it deliberately. Reviews, the end of a project you delivered, or taking on responsibility beyond your job description are stronger moments to ask than an arbitrary date on the calendar.
- Ask for a number, not a raise. "Based on the market rate and [specific contribution], I'd like to move to X" gets a clearer answer than "I think I deserve more."
Veterinary Nurse salary questions
How much do veterinary nurses earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a veterinary nurse is $86,700 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is veterinary nurse pay rising or falling?
The median veterinary nurse salary is up $18,000 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than veterinary nurse?
Veterinarian pays a typical $38,800 a year more and draws on similar skills to veterinary nurse.
Related salaries
- Practice Manager salary
- Veterinarian salary
- Animal Attendant salary
- Receptionist salary
- Stablehand salary
- Veterinary Technologist salary
Pay advice
- How to ask for a pay rise, and back it up with real numbersWhat national wage growth looks like right now, how to work out a figure for your own role, wording you can adapt for the conversation, and what to do if the answer is no.
- The average salary in Australia (2026)Full-time adults in Australia averaged $2,083.70 a week in May 2026. Several measures get called the average salary, and this explains which one fits your situation.
- Overtime pay, time in lieu and what your award saysOvertime rates come from your award or agreement, not one national rule. How rates work, what happens on a salary, and how time off in lieu works.