What Australian hospitals really pay locum doctors
Every quarter we analyse every locum job sent to Zeep Medical by more than 400 hospitals and health services across Australia, including the jobs we don’t fill. The result is a clear picture of day rates, demand and booking notice by grade, state and specialty, built from real job requests, not surveys.
Latest Edition
Q3 2026 · July to September 2026
A winter that kept hospitals calling
Locum demand hit its highest level since winter 2022, registrar rates rose $135 a day on last winter, and one in five consultant jobs started within a week. Rates by grade, state and specialty, plus when to put your hand up.
Past Editions
Read online or download the original PDF
Earlier editions were published on our earlier method, so their figures differ from the restated trend below.
2026
2025
2024
The Overall Trend
By grade, Q1 22 to Q3 26 · restated: each job counted once
Show the figures
| Quarter | Consultant rate | Consultant days | Registrar rate | Registrar days | Resident rate | Resident days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2022 | $2,100 | 106,059 | $1,189 | 58,809 | $1,106 | 23,285 |
| Q2 2022 | $2,202 | 109,739 | $1,238 | 72,271 | $1,097 | 29,064 |
| Q3 2022 | $2,288 | 118,024 | $1,275 | 85,048 | $1,087 | 36,822 |
| Q4 2022 | $2,332 | 82,815 | $1,287 | 54,306 | $1,098 | 26,934 |
| Q1 2023 | $2,356 | 89,609 | $1,288 | 53,820 | $1,042 | 15,846 |
| Q2 2023 | $2,357 | 80,697 | $1,299 | 54,908 | $1,012 | 20,709 |
| Q3 2023 | $2,379 | 82,459 | $1,273 | 66,730 | $1,056 | 31,335 |
| Q4 2023 | $2,468 | 59,363 | $1,288 | 43,939 | $1,038 | 18,390 |
| Q1 2024 | $2,421 | 74,012 | $1,285 | 35,309 | $1,043 | 9,405 |
| Q2 2024 | $2,468 | 74,457 | $1,344 | 37,521 | $1,029 | 14,292 |
| Q3 2024 | $2,544 | 79,455 | $1,257 | 59,551 | $1,017 | 22,363 |
| Q4 2024 | $2,516 | 65,495 | $1,300 | 46,512 | $1,118 | 13,853 |
| Q1 2025 | $2,570 | 74,337 | $1,283 | 31,481 | $1,078 | 7,459 |
| Q2 2025 | $2,560 | 77,974 | $1,299 | 38,370 | $1,045 | 11,392 |
| Q3 2025 | $2,593 | 92,498 | $1,284 | 61,968 | $1,027 | 23,323 |
| Q4 2025 | $2,583 | 77,265 | $1,429 | 61,003 | $1,076 | 18,976 |
| Q1 2026 | $2,544 | 95,384 | $1,460 | 53,830 | $1,076 | 12,104 |
| Q2 2026 | $2,576 | 99,883 | $1,505 | 51,030 | $1,032 | 13,966 |
| Q3 2026 | $2,505 | 112,775 | $1,419 | 90,134 | $1,042 | 25,185 |
Restated on our updated method: each job counted once, cancelled jobs included, rates weighted by days. Figures may differ from the original editions.
Why Zeep Insights
How it differs from salary surveys
Real jobs, not surveys
Every figure comes from a job a hospital actually sent us, with its real rate and dates.
The whole market we see
Jobs we filled, jobs we didn’t and jobs later cancelled, from public and private health services nationwide.
Counted properly
Re-sent jobs count once, and rates are weighted by days, so long blocks and single shifts are fairly balanced.
Every quarter since 2022
A consistent series that shows where rates and demand are heading, not just a snapshot.
Zeep Insights is compiled by Zeep Medical’s analysts from the locum jobs Australian hospitals and health services send to Zeep, including jobs Zeep fills and jobs it does not. Daily rates are averaged over 8 hours worked. The data is indicative only.
Looking for your next locum?
Talk to the Zeep team about roles and rates in your specialty.
