Epworth HealthCare (VIC) Nursing & Midwifery Wages

Notes

• •Rates are weekly full-time salaries (Schedule D). The ordinary hourly rate is 1/38th of the weekly salary.
• •Each rise applies from the first full pay period on or after its date: +5.0% from 1 July 2025; a one-off restructure from 1 October 2025 that lifted each classification by a different amount (a graduate Registered Nurse rose almost 15%, wages only); +4.25% from 1 July 2026; and +4.25% from 1 July 2027. The previous agreement's rates, which Schedule D also prints, are not shown here, and nor is a one-off allowances-only column for the pay period(s) between the 23 June 2025 operative date and 1 July 2025.
• •One set of rates covers every Epworth site: Richmond, Freemasons (including Park Hyatt maternity), Eastern, Geelong, Continuing Care (rehabilitation and mental health) and Corporate.
• •Weekday shift penalties are flat dollar amounts per shift, not percentage loadings, and Registered and Enrolled Nurses get the same amount. A shift earns either the morning/afternoon allowance or the night allowance, never both. Shift allowances are also paid on weekends, on top of the 150% weekend rate.
• •Casuals receive a 25% loading. Casual weekend work pays 187.5% and casual public holiday work 225% on any day, both including the loading. Casuals are not paid for public holidays they do not work.
• •Overtime for full-time and part-time staff: 150% for the first 2 hours then 200% Monday to Friday, 200% on Saturday and Sunday, and 250% on a public holiday. Casual overtime: 187.5% for the first 2 hours then 250% on weekdays, 250% on weekends and 312.5% on a public holiday. Each period of overtime stands alone, so the first 2 hours count starts again each time.
• •Part-time staff are paid overtime when they work longer than the usual full-time shift in their area, more than 10 shifts in a fortnight, or more than 76 hours in a fortnight. Casuals are paid overtime after 10 hours in a shift (12 on an agreed 12-hour shift) or 76 hours in a fortnight.
• •If you are directed to work through your meal break, overtime is paid from the start of the break until it is taken or the shift ends.
• •Time off in lieu of overtime is available to full-time and part-time staff with Epworth's agreement: the time worked plus the overtime penalty (1 hour at time and a half is 1.5 hours off), taken within six weeks or paid out.
• •Recall to work while on call is paid at overtime rates for a minimum of 3 hours, counted from when you leave home until you get back. A later recall in the same on-call period, after those first 3 hours, is paid at double time (double time and a half on a public holiday). Work done by phone or computer is paid at overtime rates for a minimum of 1 hour.
• •Working a public holiday that falls Monday to Friday (full-time and part-time): you are paid either time and a half plus half a day off in lieu (taken within 4 weeks or paid out), or your ordinary rate plus an extra day of pay. A public holiday on a Saturday or Sunday pays 250%.
• •Public holidays: New Year's Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Anzac Day, King's Birthday, Melbourne Cup Day, the Friday before the AFL Grand Final (when gazetted), Christmas Day and Boxing Day, plus any other day declared. For staff who only work Monday to Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day falling on a weekend move to 27 and 28 December, and New Year's Day or Australia Day on a weekend moves to the following Monday.
• •Rostered off on a public holiday: full-time staff receive a day's ordinary pay (Monday to Friday workers only when the holiday falls on a weekday). Part-time staff are paid if they worked that day of the week at least half the time over the previous six months.
• •There is no in-charge allowance. The Associate Nurse/Midwife Unit Manager rate already includes taking charge, and a nurse asked to take charge in the unit manager's absence is paid the ANUM rate for that shift. Higher duties of more than 2 hours in a shift pay the higher rate for the whole shift.
• •Standard full-time hours are 38 a week (76 a fortnight). Shifts are normally 6 to 10 hours; 12-hour shifts are by agreement only. The minimum engagement is 4 hours for everyone, permanent and casual.
• •A year of experience means averaging six or more shifts a fortnight. Averaging fewer than six shifts or 48 hours a fortnight (whichever is less) means an extra year is needed to move up a pay point.
• •Annual leave is 190 hours a year for full-time staff (5 weeks), pro rata for part-time. Full-time staff who work 10 or more weekends (4 or more hours each) or are rostered on call for 10 or more weekends get an extra 38 hours. Part-time staff qualify for the extra hours from 1 July 2027.
• •Annual leave loading is the higher of your usual rostered shift and weekend penalties or 17.5%, and is paid on up to 152 hours of leave a year.
• •Professional development leave is 5 days a year for full-time staff from 1 July 2025, pro rata for part-time.
• •Assistants in nursing are not covered by this agreement. Director and Associate Director of Clinical Services salaries are set at market rates, so they are not listed. Use of your own car for work is reimbursed at the ATO rate.
• •Source: Epworth HealthCare Nurses and Midwives Enterprise Agreement 2024 (AE529372, [2025] FWCA 1983), approved 16 June 2025, operative 23 June 2025, nominal expiry 30 September 2027. Read the full agreement at the Fair Work Commission: fwc.gov.au (approval decision: fwc.gov.au; agreement record: fwc.gov.au; Epworth's copy: epworth.org.au)