Short version: good shift notes answer five questions: who, when, what support was delivered, what changed, and what the next worker needs to know. Use the copy-and-paste format below, write only facts you observed, and keep incidents out of free-text notes by using your incident process. If you also track hours, our free shift profit calculator shows what a rostered shift costs.
What are shift notes?
Shift notes are the short written record a support worker leaves at the end of a shift. They tell the next worker, the team leader and, where relevant, the participant's family or coordinator what happened, what support was given and what to watch for. In disability, home care and aged care, they are the thread that keeps care consistent when different people cover different shifts.
They are not the same as full progress notes, which usually go into more depth about goals and outcomes. Check your organisation's policy on which records it expects for each shift.
A shift notes template you can copy
Paste this into your own form, document or system and adapt it to your service. The headings keep notes consistent between workers, which makes them far easier to scan.
- Date and shift times: start and finish time, and your name.
- Participant / client: name or ID as your service requires.
- Arrival and presentation: mood, energy, anything you noticed on arrival.
- Support delivered: the tasks and activities completed, such as personal care, meals, medication prompts per your policy, community access, household tasks.
- Participant choices and responses: what they chose, enjoyed, declined or found difficult.
- Changes or concerns: anything different from the usual routine, such as appetite, sleep, mobility, behaviour or health.
- Follow-up for next shift: supplies running low, appointments, messages from family, tasks left unfinished.
- Incidents: tick yes or no, and confirm the separate incident report was lodged.
Good vs weak shift note examples
These examples are illustrative only, not drawn from real participants.
| Weak | Stronger |
|---|---|
| "Had a good day. Normal shift." | "Arrived 2pm; Sam was relaxed and chose to walk to the local park. Ate all of lunch. Declined the afternoon shower, offered again at 4pm and he accepted." |
| "Seemed unwell." | "Mary was quieter than usual and ate half her dinner. She said her stomach felt sore. I passed this to the team leader at 6:15pm. Please check on her at the start of the next shift." |
| "Client was difficult." | "At 11am Jo became upset when the outing was changed. I used the calming steps in the support plan and the outing went ahead at 11:30am." |
The stronger versions record what happened, what you did and what is left to do. They avoid labels and guesses.
Tips for writing shift notes that help
- Write facts, not opinions. "Refused lunch" is a fact; "was being stubborn" is a judgement.
- Use the person's own words where it matters, in quotation marks.
- Write them at the time or as close to the end of the shift as you can, while details are fresh.
- Be specific about times when something changes.
- Keep the next worker in mind. End with anything they need to do or watch for.
- Respect privacy. Record what is needed for the support, nothing more.
Shift notes and incidents: keep them separate
If something serious happens, such as an injury, a fall, a medication error or an allegation, a line in the shift notes is not enough. Use your organisation's incident process and form, and note in the shift notes that a report was lodged. Our incident report form template covers what to include.
Common shift note mistakes
- Copying the same sentence into every note, so real changes disappear.
- Leaving out what you did in response to a concern.
- Vague wording such as "okay", "fine" or "as usual".
- Recording opinions or diagnoses you are not qualified to make.
- Leaving notes until the end of the week.
How RaddeCare+ fits in
RaddeCare+ is a rostering, award-compliance and invoicing system, not a clinical notes system. In the worker mobile app, support workers sign in and out of shifts with geolocation, complete timesheets, manage leave and keep working offline. You can build your own shift note, handover or incident templates with the form builder for compliance documents; note that the form builder is not available as dynamic forms inside the mobile app. Once shifts are on the roster, RaddeCare+ applies the SCHADS, Aged Care and Nurses award rules and shows per-shift margin.
Frequently asked questions
What should be included in shift notes?
Date, shift times and who was on shift; the participant's or client's mood and presentation; what support was delivered; any change from the usual routine; anything that needs follow-up by the next worker; and any incident or concern raised separately through your incident process. Stick to what you saw and did.
What is the difference between shift notes and progress notes?
Shift notes are a short record of one shift, written mainly so the next worker or supervisor knows what happened. Progress notes are usually more detailed and focus on how a person is tracking against their goals and support plan. Many providers use both; follow your organisation's policy on which to complete.
How long should shift notes be?
Long enough that the next worker could pick up without phoning you, and no longer. A handful of factual sentences or a short structured form is usually enough. If something significant happened, record it clearly rather than adding volume.
Can shift notes be completed on a phone?
That depends on the system your organisation uses. In RaddeCare+, workers sign in and out of shifts and complete timesheets in the mobile app. Compliance forms are built with the form builder, which is not available as dynamic forms inside the mobile app, so confirm how notes are captured in your own setup.