Short version: aged care rosters are harder than most because one site often mixes awards, split and weekend shifts, and clients who need familiar faces. Choose software that applies the right award to each worker, shows what each shift costs once it is rostered, and gives workers a simple app. Demo it with your own messiest week.
Searching for aged care software usually turns up a long list of products built for something else: clinical records, medication charts or generic shift apps. This guide is only about the rostering side: getting the right worker to the right client or resident, paid correctly, without a weekly spreadsheet marathon.
Why aged care rostering is harder than a generic roster
A basic roster answers "who is working when?". An aged care roster has to answer more:
- Who is allowed to be paid under which award? Residential staff, nurses and home-care workers are often covered by different awards, and one provider can employ all three.
- Which shifts attract penalties? Evenings, weekends and public holidays change what a shift costs, and the rules differ between awards.
- Who does each client know? Residents and home-care clients generally do better with familiar workers, so the roster has to be more than a gap-filling exercise.
- What happens when someone calls in sick at 5am? The replacement has to be available, qualified and not about to tip into overtime.
Which award applies? Check before you buy
Rostering software is only as good as the award rules behind it, so know which awards you are dealing with. As a general guide:
- The Aged Care Award 2010 (MA000018) commonly covers employees in residential aged care.
- The Nurses Award 2020 (MA000034) covers nurses, including in aged-care settings.
- The SCHADS Award (MA000100) commonly covers home-care, community and disability support workers.
Coverage depends on the employer's industry and the employee's duties, and some providers sit across more than one. If you are unsure, check with the Fair Work Ombudsman at fairwork.gov.au before configuring anything. It is cheaper than back-paying a year of shifts.
The buyer's checklist
1. Award rules applied per worker, not per site
- Each worker is paid under their own award, even when the roster mixes awards.
- Penalties, overtime and allowances are worked out from the shift's actual start and finish times.
- You can see how a shift was calculated, not just the total.
2. Cost visibility once a shift is on the roster
- Each rostered shift shows its cost, so a Sunday or public holiday shift does not surprise you at pay time.
- You can compare the cost against what you bill or are funded for.
3. A worker app that works on the road
- Workers can see their shifts, sign in and out, submit timesheets and request leave from a phone.
- It still works in basement car parks, rural areas and facilities with poor reception.
4. Leave and availability in the same place
- Approved leave is visible when you roster, so you do not schedule someone who is away.
5. Compliance records you can find later
- Incident reports and other compliance documents are kept as records, not scattered across email and paper.
6. Payroll and accounting integration
- Approved timesheets and invoices flow to Xero or MYOB without re-keying.
Questions to ask in a demo
- "Roster a personal care worker, an enrolled nurse and a community support worker on the same Saturday. How is each one calculated?"
- "A worker calls in sick for an early shift. How do I find a replacement without pushing someone into overtime?"
- "Where do I see the cost of tomorrow's roster before it happens?"
- "What does a worker see if they have no reception?"
Run the free Shift Profit Calculator first if you want a feel for how weekend and public holiday shifts change your margin, and the SCHADS Pay Calculator to sanity-check any SCHADS shift a vendor shows you.
Where RaddeCare+ fits
RaddeCare+ covers rostering with Aged Care (MA000018), Nurses (MA000034) and SCHADS (MA000100) award engines, including sleepovers, broken shifts, public holidays and overtime. It shows per-shift margin once a shift is on the roster, handles NDIS and general invoicing, and integrates with Xero and MYOB. Workers get a mobile app with geolocation sign-in and sign-out, timesheets, leave and offline use, and a form builder supports compliance documents. See how the three awards work together on one roster or try the live demo.
Frequently asked questions
What is aged care rostering software?
It is software that builds rosters for residential and home-care aged-care staff, applies the relevant award rules to each shift, lets workers sign in and out on a mobile app, and passes approved timesheets to payroll. Better systems also show the cost of each rostered shift.
Which award applies to aged care workers?
It depends on the employer and the work. Residential aged-care employees are commonly covered by the Aged Care Award 2010 (MA000018), nurses by the Nurses Award 2020 (MA000034), and many home-care and disability support workers by the SCHADS Award (MA000100). Confirm coverage with the Fair Work Ombudsman, because a single provider can employ people under more than one.
Can one system roster staff under different awards?
Some can. If you run care workers, nurses and community-support staff, ask any vendor to show a single roster with each worker paid under their own award, rather than one rate table applied to everyone.
Do I need separate rostering and payroll software for aged care?
Not necessarily. Rostering that applies award rules and exports approved timesheets to payroll or accounting removes most of the re-keying that causes pay errors.