Bachelor of Nursing
at University of South Australia, South Australia.
An ANMAC-accredited nursing degree leading to registration as an enrolled or registered nurse with AHPRA. Includes more than 800 hours of supervised clinical placement across hospital and community settings.
ATAR cutoff history
Published cutoff data for the University of South Australia Bachelor of Nursing. We never invent figures; entries marked "not published" mean the university or admissions centre has not released a verified cutoff for that intake.
| Intake year | ATAR cutoff | Admissions centre |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | ATAR cutoff not published | SATAC |
| 2023 | ATAR cutoff not published | SATAC |
| 2022 | ATAR cutoff not published | SATAC |
No verified cutoffs are available. Confirm the latest figure on the official SATAC cutoff release.
Prerequisite Year 12 subjects
Brush up on each prerequisite with our state-syllabus explainers and dot points.
What you will study
First year builds the foundations of nursing: human anatomy and physiology, the fundamentals of nursing care, health assessment, and the professional, legal and ethical context of practice. UniSA teaches with simulation labs and clinical skills practice from the start, and you complete an early supervised clinical placement. Middle years cover the major areas of practice: medical and surgical nursing, mental health, maternal and child health, aged care and chronic and complex care, alongside pharmacology, pathophysiology and evidence-based practice. Clinical placements lengthen and rotate through hospital and community settings, where you apply skills under registered-nurse supervision. Final year focuses on transition to practice: managing complex and acute patients, leadership and delegation, and a longer consolidation placement that prepares you for graduate work. The degree is ANMAC accredited and includes more than 800 hours of supervised clinical placement. On meeting the requirements, graduates are eligible to apply for registration as a registered nurse with AHPRA through the Nursing and Midwifery Board.
Example first-year subjects
- Anatomy and Physiology for Nursing
- Foundations of Nursing Practice
- Health Assessment
- Professional and Ethical Practice in Nursing
- Introduction to Pharmacology
- Communication in Health Care
How you will be assessed
- Supervised clinical placement assessments
- Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) and skills checks
- Written exams in bioscience and nursing theory
- Care-plan and case-study assignments
- Simulation-lab scenarios and reflections
- Medication-calculation and safety tests
Career outcomes
- Graduates work as registered nurses in hospital, community and aged-care settings after registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.
- Common destinations include public hospital graduate transition programmes, mental-health services and rural and remote nursing positions.
- Many alumni progress into specialty practice (intensive care, paediatrics, midwifery), nurse-practitioner study or clinical education roles.
Professional accreditation
- ANMAC accredited
- AHPRA registration eligible
Typical first jobs
- Registered nurse in a public hospital graduate program
- Registered nurse in a private hospital
- Aged-care or community nurse
- Mental-health nurse
- Rural or remote area nurse
- Practice nurse in primary care
- Surgical, medical or emergency ward nurse
Graduate starting salary
$65,000 - $72,000 per year
Source: https://www.qilt.edu.au/surveys/graduate-outcomes-survey-(gos). Last reviewed 2026-05-24.
After graduation
Graduates register as registered nurses and usually enter a hospital graduate transition-to-practice program before moving into a chosen specialty. With experience, nurses specialise (such as intensive care, emergency, paediatrics, perioperative or mental health), or progress into clinical education, management and nurse-practitioner roles. Postgraduate options include graduate certificates and diplomas in specialty nursing, the Master of Nursing, and midwifery qualifications.
Is this the right degree for you?
You probably thrive here if
- Caring, resilient people who want to work with patients
- Students comfortable with shift work and clinical placements
- Practical learners who like hands-on clinical skills
- Calm communicators who handle pressure and emotion
- People who can manage detail and patient safety
It is probably not for you if
- Students wanting a desk-based or office career
- Those uncomfortable with bodily care, blood or shift work
- People unable to commit to long unpaid placements
- Students who dislike high-stakes safety and medication testing
Related courses at UniSA
Sources
Course details are summarised by ExamExplained, not copied from the university. Confirm course content and ATAR cutoffs on the University of South Australia handbook and on SATAC before applying. Page generated at https://examexplained.com.au/uni/unisa/bachelor-of-nursing.