Short version: SCHADS pay = the classification rate × the right penalty for the day and shift + 25% if casual, with overtime after the daily limit and flat allowances for sleepovers and broken shifts. Our free SCHADS Pay Calculator does it for you.
What is the SCHADS Award?
The Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (MA000100), usually called SCHADS, is the modern award that sets minimum pay and conditions for most disability support workers, home care workers and social and community services employees in Australia. If you're an NDIS provider employing support workers and you don't have an enterprise agreement, SCHADS almost certainly applies to them.
The Fair Work Commission reviews minimum wages every year, and new rates usually apply from the first full pay period on or after 1 July. That's why this guide explains how pay is calculated rather than listing dollar figures that go out of date. For current rates, use the SCHADS pay guide on fairwork.gov.au.
1. Classification levels and pay points
Every employee is classified at a level (Level 1 to Level 8 for social and community services employees, with separate home care streams) and a pay point within that level. The classification sets the ordinary hourly rate that every other calculation starts from.
- Level 1–2: entry-level and Certificate III-qualified support workers.
- Level 3: experienced support workers, often Certificate IV.
- Level 4–5: team leaders, coordinators and senior practitioners.
- Level 6–8: managers and specialist or principal practitioners.
Misclassification is one of the most common and expensive SCHADS errors. An underpaid classification compounds through every penalty, overtime hour and leave payment.
2. Casual loading
Casual employees receive a 25% loading on the ordinary hourly rate instead of paid annual leave and personal leave. Under SCHADS the loading is added to penalty percentages, not multiplied by them. A casual Saturday is 150% + 25% = 175% of the ordinary rate, not 150% × 125%.
3. Penalty rates for ordinary hours
| When the work happens | Full-time / part-time | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| Weekday day work | 100% | 125% |
| Afternoon shift (finishes after 8pm, at or before midnight) | 112.5% | 137.5% |
| Night shift (finishes after midnight or starts before 6am) | 115% | 140% |
| Saturday | 150% | 175% |
| Sunday | 200% | 225% |
| Public holiday | 250% | 275% |
Shift definitions matter. A shift that finishes at 8:30pm is an afternoon shift for its whole duration, not just the last half hour, so rosters that run slightly late can change the cost of the entire shift.
4. Overtime
Work beyond the employee's ordinary hours, whether past the daily maximum, outside the agreed roster for part-timers or above the weekly limit, attracts overtime:
- Monday to Saturday: 150% for the first two hours, 200% after that.
- Sunday: 200%.
- Public holiday: 250%.
Casual employees receive their 25% loading on top of overtime rates. Part-time overtime is a frequent blind spot: hours worked beyond a part-timer's agreed hours can be overtime even when they're under 38 for the week, unless the agreed hours were properly varied in writing.
5. Broken shifts
A broken shift is one day's work split into two or more periods with unpaid breaks in between, like a morning personal-care visit and an evening visit. For disability services work, SCHADS:
- pays a broken-shift allowance for one break, and a higher amount for two breaks, the maximum permitted for most disability services work,
- requires the whole shift to fall within a 12-hour span, with work outside the span paid at a higher rate,
- requires a minimum break between broken shifts on consecutive days.
6. Sleepovers
A sleepover is when a worker is required to sleep overnight at the premises where the support is provided. Instead of hourly pay for the time asleep, the worker receives a flat sleepover allowance. Any time they're woken to perform work is paid separately on top of the allowance. Sleepovers also need a minimum continuous period and a bed and facilities. Our sleepover guide covers the payroll and NDIS billing side in detail.
7. Minimum engagement and breaks between shifts
SCHADS sets minimum payments per engagement for casual and part-time employees, so a short visit can still cost the minimum. It also requires a minimum break between the end of one shift and the start of the next. When rosters don't respect that break, the following shift can attract overtime rates.
8. Other allowances to watch
- Vehicle allowance when workers use their own car for work.
- Travel time between clients during a shift, which is generally paid time.
- On-call allowance for being available outside rostered hours.
- First aid and other expense-related allowances.
- Client cancellation rules, which can mean paying for a shift the participant cancelled.
Why manual SCHADS calculation breaks down
Any one of these rules is simple. The trouble is that a single support worker can move through four or five of them in a week, and spreadsheets don't know when a shift crossed 8pm, when a part-timer passed their agreed hours or when a broken shift exceeded its span. Every pay cycle becomes hours of manual checking, and a single missed rule turns into back-pay.
RaddeCare+ applies SCHADS, Aged Care and Nurses award rules to every shift on the roster automatically, shows the margin on each shift once it's rostered, and flows approved timesheets into payroll, NDIS invoicing and Xero or MYOB.
Frequently asked questions
Does SCHADS apply to all NDIS providers?
SCHADS covers most employers of disability support workers and social and community services employees in Australia, unless an enterprise agreement applies instead. Some roles, such as nurses or aged-care workers, may be covered by a different award.
Is casual loading compounded with weekend penalties under SCHADS?
No. Under SCHADS the 25% casual loading is added to the penalty percentage, so a casual Saturday is 175% and a casual Sunday is 225% of the ordinary hourly rate.
When do SCHADS pay rates change?
Minimum wages are reviewed annually by the Fair Work Commission, and new rates usually apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July each year. Allowance amounts are updated at the same time.
How many breaks can a SCHADS broken shift have?
For most disability services work, a broken shift can include up to two unpaid breaks, with a higher allowance for two breaks than for one. The whole shift must fit within the Award's maximum span.