Most NDIS providers we speak to still work out sleepover pay manually: a spreadsheet, the pay guide open in another tab, and a lot of double-checking when a worker was woken during the night. Here's how the calculation actually works, step by step.
Step 1: Split the shift into its parts
A typical overnight support has three parts:
- Active evening work, for example 3pm to 10pm, paid as ordinary hours at the applicable penalty. Finishing after 8pm usually makes it an afternoon shift.
- The sleepover period, for example 10pm to 6am, covered by the flat sleepover allowance, not hourly pay.
- Active morning work, for example 6am to 9am, paid as ordinary hours or overtime depending on the hours already worked.
Step 2: Pay the active hours
Apply the worker's classification rate, the penalty for the day and shift, and casual loading if applicable. Watch whether the evening and morning work, together with the sleepover, count as one continuous engagement under the Award, because that affects when overtime starts.
Step 3: Add the sleepover allowance
The SCHADS sleepover allowance is a flat amount per sleepover, indexed every year. Use the current figure from the Fair Work pay guide. The worker must be provided with a separate room, a bed and proper facilities.
Step 4: Pay any disturbances
If the worker is woken to provide support during the sleepover, that time is paid on top of the allowance, at the rate the Award specifies for work during a sleepover, including any minimum payment. Disturbances are where most underpayments happen, because they rarely make it from the shift notes into payroll.
Try it: add a 3pm–10pm shift with Sleepover ticked in the free SCHADS Pay Calculator, then add the morning shift as a separate row.
Step 5: Bill the sleepover to the NDIS
The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits include a specific support item and price limit for sleepovers in some support categories, separate from the hourly items used for active support. In practice:
- active hours are claimed under the relevant hourly support item, with time-of-day and day-of-week variants,
- the sleepover is claimed as one unit under the sleepover item,
- support during the sleepover that's more than incidental may be claimable as active support, depending on the current rules and the participant's service agreement.
Always check the version of the Pricing Arrangements in force on the date of service. Sleepover rules are reviewed periodically.
The four most common sleepover mistakes
- Unpaid disturbances. The worker is woken twice, the shift note says so, and payroll never sees it.
- Wrong shift penalty on the evening portion. Paying day rates for a shift that finished after 8pm.
- Missing overtime. Long overnight engagements can push active hours past the daily limit.
- Billing mismatch. Claiming active hours that weren't rostered, or not claiming the sleepover item at all.
Doing this automatically
In RaddeCare+, sleepovers are rostered as part of the shift, so the award engine applies the allowance and penalties, the worker records disturbances in the mobile app, and the same shift data feeds both payroll and the NDIS invoice. The two sides can't drift apart.
Frequently asked questions
Is a sleepover paid by the hour under SCHADS?
No. The sleepover period itself attracts a flat sleepover allowance. Active work before and after the sleepover, and any time the worker is woken to provide support, is paid separately.
Can NDIS providers claim sleepovers?
Yes. The NDIS Pricing Arrangements include a sleepover support item for eligible supports, claimed as one unit per sleepover, separate from the hourly items for active support. Check the current Pricing Arrangements for the price limit and conditions.
What happens if a worker is woken during a sleepover?
Time spent working during the sleepover is paid in addition to the sleepover allowance, at the rate set by the Award, which includes a minimum payment for each disturbance.