Nurse refused bail over elderly murders

A nurse who allegedly gave two elderly women in a northern NSW nursing home fatal doses of insulin has been refused bail.

Megan Haines is charged with two counts of murder and assault after the deaths of two women and the hospitalisation of another at the St Andrews Village aged care home in Ballina in May.

She appeared in Central Local Court in Sydney on Wednesday where she represented herself.

It's alleged Haines, a 46-year-old nurse who had been employed at Ballina nursing home for two months, administered Marie Darragh, 82, and Isobella Spencer 77, fatal doses of insulin the middle of the night.

They were found unconscious in their beds and died a short time later.

Haines allegedly tried to give another woman, an 88-year-old, unscheduled medication but the woman woke up.

Haines later travelled to Seaspray in Victoria, where she was arrested this week.

The mother of two applied for bail, saying she needed to tend to her children.

"They aren't used to being separated from me," she told the court.

Haines said she wanted to move them from state care in Victoria, where the children were placed after her arrest, into the care of someone she knew.

"I wanted my sister to come and get my kids and I know they would be taken care of," she said.

She denied she wanted to return to her home country of South Africa.

However, police prosecutor Vanessa Robichaux said Haines had been actively seeking the return of her South African passport as well as her children's.

Haines said she wasn't a flight risk because she didn't have a passport and had established herself in Australia.

Magistrate Les Mabbutt refused bail, finding that Haines was an unacceptable risk of failing to turn up at further court dates and that she posed a danger to the community.

Ms Robichaux told the court Haines had a "dislike and intolerance" for elderly people despite having worked in the aged-care industry.

The court heard Haines had certain medical responsibilities at the Ballina nursing home.

Haines said she didn't move to Victoria, after the deaths at her former workplace, because of the police investigation but because she couldn't afford to live on the north coast.

Haines worked several days after the deaths in May and then handed in her resignation, it's alleged.

The case has been adjourned to Lismore Local Court in August.

Outside the court, Ms Darragh's daughter Janet Parkinson thanked the police for their investigation.

"We are thankful the investigation has progressed," she told AAP.