Pay Rates for Registrar Locum Doctors

Pay Rates for Registrar Locum Doctors in Australia 2025

Every Registrar rate on the record. Pulling straight from hospital job boards, we’ve analysed 28,793 shifts since October 2024. Consider this your panoramic view - states, specialty spreads and seasonal swings follow below.

Last refresh on December 8, 2025 at 08:58 AM.

What is the average rate for a Registrar Locum Doctor in 2025?

The average rate for a Registrar Locum Doctor in 2025 is $171.41 per hour or $1,371.28 per day. Based on 28,793 shifts across 5 states.

What is the average Salary of a Registrar Locum Doctor?

The average salary for a Registrar Locum Doctor in 2025 is $325,678.82 per year.

How we convert the hourly rate to a yearly figure
Hourly rate
$171.41
Full-time hours
38hrs/week
Weeks worked
50

$171.41 × 38hrs × 50 ≈ $325,678.82

Specialty Pay Breakdown

The highest paying specialty for a Registrar Locum Doctors is Emergency Medicine with an average rate of $195.00per hour. The lowest paying role is Oncology with an average rate of $133.00 per hour.

RoleAverage RateSalary Shifts Sampled
Emergency Medicine$195/hr$370,5009864
Otorhinolaryngology$180/hr$342,000129
Plastics$177/hr$336,300150
Obstetrics & Gynaecology$177/hr$336,3001972
Intensive Care$170/hr$323,0001793
Geriatrics$166/hr$315,400457
Orthopaedics$165/hr$313,5002132
Gastroenterology$163/hr$309,70040
General Practice$163/hr$309,70057
Nephrology$163/hr$309,70056
Surgery$162/hr$307,8002846
Anaesthetics$160/hr$304,00055
Paediatrics$158/hr$300,2001542
General Medicine$151/hr$286,9004346
Rehab$150/hr$285,000354
Psychiatry$150/hr$285,0001766
Palliative Care$149/hr$283,100233
Other$143/hr$271,700184
Urology$142/hr$269,800116
Cardiology$138/hr$262,200317
Oncology$133/hr$252,700306
Highest and lowest paying specialties for Registrar Locum Doctors.

State Breakdown Of Registrar Rates

The highest paying state for Registrar Locum Doctors is VIC with an average rate of $182.11 per hour. The lowest paying state is WA with an average rate of $148.77 per hour. Total variance of $33.35.

What is the average rate for a Registrar Locum Doctor in NSW?

$171.01 per hour. Based on 26,773 shifts.

RateHospital
Highest$500.00Shellharbour
Lowest$87.50Glen Innes
Average$171.01n/a
Highest, lowest and average rates for Registrar Locum Doctors in NSW

What is the average rate for a Registrar Locum Doctor in VIC?

$182.11 per hour. Based on 1,284 shifts.

RateHospital
Highest$300.00Bairnsdale Regional Health Service
Lowest$150.00Epworth Richmond
Average$182.11n/a
Highest, lowest and average rates for Registrar Locum Doctors in VIC

What is the average rate for a Registrar Locum Doctor in SA?

$177.39 per hour. Based on 297 shifts.

RateHospital
Highest$185.00Riverland Regional Health Service - Berri Hospital
Lowest$160.00Riverland Regional Health Service - Barmera Hospital
Average$177.39n/a
Highest, lowest and average rates for Registrar Locum Doctors in SA

What is the average rate for a Registrar Locum Doctor in WA?

$148.77 per hour. Based on 146 shifts.

RateHospital
Highest$170.00Bunbury Hospital
Lowest$140.00Rockingham General Hospital
Average$148.77n/a
Highest, lowest and average rates for Registrar Locum Doctors in WA

What is the average rate for a Registrar Locum Doctor in QLD?

$174.60 per hour. Based on 189 shifts.

RateHospital
Highest$336.60Mount Isa Hospital
Lowest$106.00Normanton Hospital
Average$174.60n/a
Highest, lowest and average rates for Registrar Locum Doctors in QLD

Do Night Shifts Pay Better Rates For Registrar Locum Doctors?

Yes, the average rate for a Registrar Locum Doctor on a night shift is $190.71 per hour (7061 shifts). The average rate for a Registrar Locum Doctor on a day shift is $164.85 per hour (18503 shifts).


Does Seasonality Affect Rates?

The highest paying month for Registrar Locum Doctors is Feb with an average rate of $183.00 per hour. The lowest paying month is Jun with an average rate of $165.00 per hour.


Case Studies

1. ED Registrar Physician, 2025 Earnings

This is a real doctor on Medlo. Personal details anonymised for privacy.

Key Details

  • Work Locations: Regional VIC
  • Specialty: ED Physician (PGY5)
  • Shifts: 135 shifts between January to August 2025
  • Average Earning Per Shift: $2,125
  • Earnings: $286,875 (Jan-Aug)
  • Equivalent Yearly Salary: >$382k
  • FTE: 0.84

Data Collection Methodology

Medlo is a medical recruitment platform using state of the art technology to collect and process live market data.

In total Medlo has processed upwards of 20,000 medical shifts since inception in 2023.

Hospital Network

As of December 2025, Medlo's hospital network spans 81 of the 700 total Australian hospital network (11%), with data for NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, and WA (states ordered by shift volume)

Medlo's hospitals are predominantly public.

Although, our data primarily represents public/regional hospitals, it may act as a proxy for relative private or metropolitan hospital rates.

Sampling

The data used in this report spans from October 2024 to December 2025. For December onwards all data is forecasted rates by hospital suppliers - though it does not represent the final bookings for the year.

Caveats

  • Sample sizes may vary from state to state, and may not be representative of the entire market.
  • Rates may vary from hospital to hospital, and may not be representative of the entire market.
  • Low sample sizes are marked with Low Sample Size
  • Precautionary measures are taken to clean data and remove outliers. For example all rates used in average calculatrions have been filtered to be between 80 and 450.

Medlo processes on average 1,000-2,000 shifts per month. Come back soon for more data!


Wrapping Up

We hope this comprehensive breakdown of Registrar rates across Australia has been helpful. If you're interested in comparing rates across different roles, check out our other rate guides:

Remember to check back regularly as we update our data multiple times per week with the latest market rates. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, consider signing in to access our full database of rates.