Allowance amounts are indexed every year — copy the current figures from the SCHADS pay guide on fairwork.gov.au.
Shifts| Day | Start | Finish | Unpaid break (min) | Sleepover | Broken breaks |
|---|
Get the shift-by-shift breakdown
See the rate applied to every shift, how overtime was split, and a printable report you can check against payroll.
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| Shift | Hours | Rate applied | Overtime | Allowances | Pay |
|---|
How this works: ordinary hours use the SCHADS penalty for the day and shift (weekday day 100%, afternoon shift finishing after 8pm 112.5%, night shift finishing after midnight or starting before 6am 115%, Saturday 150%, Sunday 200%, public holiday 250%), plus 25% for casuals. Hours beyond 10 in one shift are paid as overtime (Mon–Sat 150% for two hours then 200%, Sunday 200%, public holiday 250%, plus 25% for casuals). It does not apply weekly overtime, broken-shift span penalties, minimum engagement top-ups or on-call and travel allowances. It's an estimate to help you check your numbers, not payroll or legal advice — always confirm against the current Fair Work pay guide.
Why SCHADS pay is so easy to get wrong
Most NDIS providers we speak to still calculate sleepovers, broken shifts and public holiday rates by hand. One support worker can move between a weekday day shift, a Saturday, a sleepover and a broken shift in the same week, and every one of those is paid differently.
Get it wrong in one direction and you underpay staff, which is a Fair Work compliance problem. Get it wrong in the other and you quietly lose margin on shifts the NDIS price limit was never going to cover. This calculator shows the maths so you can check your own numbers. Our SCHADS Award guide explains each rule in plain English.
Common questions
How do I calculate SCHADS Award pay for a shift?
Start from the employee's hourly rate for their classification and pay point. Work out which penalty applies to the shift (weekday day, afternoon or night shift, Saturday, Sunday or public holiday), add the 25% casual loading for casual employees, and multiply by the ordinary hours worked. Hours beyond the daily overtime threshold are paid at overtime rates, and any allowances such as sleepover or broken-shift allowances are added on top.
What are the SCHADS penalty rates?
Under the SCHADS Award (MA000100), ordinary hours on a Saturday are paid at 150%, Sunday at 200% and public holidays at 250% of the ordinary hourly rate. Weekday afternoon shifts attract 112.5% and night shifts 115%. Casual employees receive their 25% casual loading on top, so a casual Saturday is 175%, Sunday 225% and public holiday 275%.
How is SCHADS overtime calculated?
Overtime from Monday to Saturday is generally paid at 150% for the first two hours and 200% after that; overtime on a Sunday is 200% and on a public holiday 250%. This calculator treats hours worked beyond 10 in a single shift as overtime. Weekly overtime and averaging arrangements depend on the employee's agreed hours, so check them separately.
How are sleepovers paid under SCHADS?
A sleepover attracts a flat sleepover allowance rather than hourly pay for the time asleep. Any time the worker is woken to perform work during the sleepover is paid separately. Enter the current allowance amount from the Fair Work pay guide in the calculator, and enter only the awake, working hours as the shift times.
What is a broken shift under SCHADS?
A broken shift is a single day's work split into separate periods with an unpaid break in between. SCHADS pays a broken-shift allowance for each break (up to the maximum the Award permits), and work outside the permitted span of the broken shift attracts a higher rate. The calculator adds the allowance amounts you enter for one or two breaks.
Stop doing this by hand every pay cycle
RaddeCare+ applies SCHADS, Aged Care and Nurses award rules to every shift on your roster, then flows timesheets into payroll, NDIS invoicing and Xero or MYOB.