What Locum Shifts Actually Pay in Australia: Six Months of StatDoctor Data
5 min read | Inside StatDoctor | August 2026
TL;DR: Most published locum rates are agency estimates. Ours are the actual rates hospitals posted on 2,319 shifts on StatDoctor. Over the six months to August 2026 the median posted hourly rate was $300 in Queensland, $260 in Western Australia, $200 in Tasmania and $180 in Victoria, and the Queensland median has since dropped following the removal of its rural loading.
- Queensland: median $300 an hour across 1,260 rated shift listings in the six months to August 2026, since falling to $220 to $250.
- Western Australia: median $260 an hour across 328 listings, the steadiest market we see.
- Victoria: median $180 an hour across 419 listings, the most competitive market for hospitals and the softest for doctors.
Sources: 1 cited below ↓
Where These Numbers Come From
Every locum rate table you have ever read is probably an agency estimate, built to attract registrations rather than to inform. We wanted to publish the alternative: the rates hospitals actually attach to shifts when they post them. StatDoctor has listed 4,972 shifts since late 2023, and 2,319 of them carry a posted hourly rate. StatDoctor is a locum marketplace where hospitals post shifts with the rate on the card. Figures below come from shifts posted to the platform with an hourly rate between $80 and $500 (2,319 of 4,972 total listings since late 2023), with the state read from the hospital address. We use medians, not averages, so a handful of unusually high or low postings cannot skew the picture. Our listing volume is deepest in Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria, so treat other states as directional only.
Queensland: High, but No Longer What It Was
Queensland is the deepest locum market in the country on our platform, and for most of 2026 it was also the strongest payer, holding a median of $290 to $300 an hour from April through July. That premium existed for a reason: rural and remote facilities compete hard for cover, and the state's rural loading pushed posted rates up.
That changed in August. With the 20 per cent rural excess removed from new placements, the Queensland median on our platform dropped to $220, and shifts already posted for September dates sit at $250. We wrote up the full story of that change and what it means for doctors separately, but for a state by state comparison the honest summary is: still a high volume market, no longer clearly the best paying one.
Western Australia: The Quiet Achiever
Western Australia posted a median of $260 an hour across 328 rated listings in the six months to August, with a tight band between $230 and $270. That consistency is worth as much as the headline number. WA postings on our platform run from Kalgoorlie and Esperance to Tom Price, and remote facilities there price shifts realistically because the alternative is no doctor at all. For a locum wanting predictable earnings without chasing policy changes, WA is currently the steadiest market we can see.
Victoria: Great for Hospitals, Softer for Doctors
Victoria's median posted rate was $180 an hour across 419 listings, with the middle half of shifts between $140 and $220. Victoria has the most doctors per advertised shift of any state we operate in, and that supply keeps posted rates down. If you are a hospital, Victoria is where the marketplace works hardest for you. If you are a doctor optimising purely for rate, the data says look west or north, and increasingly south to the states lifting their rural agreements.
Tasmania and Everywhere Else
Tasmania's 34 rated listings carried a median of $200 an hour, but the sample is small enough that we would call it indicative rather than definitive. South Australia and New South Wales do not yet have enough rated volume on our platform to publish honestly, which is why our Queensland piece leans on published agreement rates for the South Australia comparison rather than our own postings. When our own SA volume is deep enough to report, we will publish it, whatever it shows.
Conclusion and Call to Action
The locum market runs on information asymmetry, and doctors have historically had the least of it. Publishing our posted rate data is one way to shrink that gap. If you want to see what shifts pay in your state this week rather than in a rate table's imagination, the feed on StatDoctor shows every shift with its rate on the card, and it costs a doctor nothing to look.
Disclaimer: This content is for general information purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or financial advice. Rates and policies change; always confirm current terms with the engaging health service before accepting a placement.
