SCHADS pay calculator for a whole week.

Every SCHADS pay calculation starts from one number: the employee's base hourly rate. That's the full-time weekly rate for their classification divided by 38. Everything else, including weekend and public holiday rates, shift loadings and overtime, is a percentage of that base rate. Allowances such as the sleepover and broken shift allowances are flat dollar amounts added on top.

Most NDIS support workers in group homes, supported independent living and community access are employed in the social and community services (SACS) stream, usually at Level 2 or Level 3. Workers supporting people in their own homes may be covered by the home care disability schedule instead. Check the SCHADS pay rates table for every level and pay point.

The award pays ordinary hours on a Saturday at 150%, Sunday at 200% and public holidays at 250%. Monday to Friday, an afternoon shift (finishing after 8pm and at or before midnight) attracts a 12.5% loading and a night shift (finishing after midnight, or starting before 6am) attracts 15%. The loading applies to the whole shift, not just the hours after 8pm or midnight.

Two rules decide how these combine. First, penalties don't stack with each other. Weekend and public holiday rates are paid instead of the afternoon or night loading (clauses 26.2 and 34.2(b)), and overtime rates are paid instead of both (clause 28.1). Second, the casual loading does stack. A casual gets 175% on Saturday, 225% on Sunday and 275% on a public holiday (clauses 26.4 and 34.2(d)).

The calculator does this for every minute of every shift, but it helps to know the order so you can check a pay slip or a payroll export by hand.

Here is a realistic week for a casual SACS Level 2 pay point 1 worker on $36.22 an hour, with no public holidays. It includes a weekday afternoon shift, a broken shift with 20 km of driving, a sleepover with a 30-minute disturbance, a Saturday shift and a short Sunday shift. The times shown are paid time (meal breaks already excluded). The figures below are produced by the same engine the calculator uses.

What this example shows:

• Monday 4pm–9pm finishes after 8pm, so the whole shift is an afternoon shift at 137.5% for a casual, not just the hour after 8pm.
• Wednesday's broken shift has one unpaid break and a 12-hour span (7am to 7pm), so there is no double time. It earns the $21.81 broken shift allowance. The second portion finishes before 8pm, so no afternoon loading applies. The vehicle allowance is $1.05 per km between 1 September 2026 and 28 February 2027.
• Thursday's sleepover earns the flat $62.87 allowance. The 30-minute disturbance is paid as overtime with a one-hour minimum.
• Sunday 8am–9:30am is shorter than the 2-hour minimum, so it is topped up and paid as 2 hours.

Change any of these shifts in the calculator above to see how the total moves. To enter the same week for a permanent part-timer, switch the employment type: every percentage drops by 25 points.

Overtime rules differ by employment type and by the kind of work. For disability services, home care and day care employees, Monday to Saturday overtime is time and a half for the first 2 hours and double time after that. Social and community services employees not doing disability work get time and a half for the first 3 hours. Sunday overtime is double time and public holiday overtime is double time and a half for everyone.

Two more overtime rules catch rosters out. If a non-casual employee works overtime and doesn't get 10 consecutive hours off before their next shift, they are paid double time until they are released for a 10-hour break (clause 28.3). An employee recalled to work overtime after leaving the workplace is paid at least 2 hours each time (clause 28.4). Meal allowance of $17.30 applies when overtime runs more than an hour past the usual finish, with a second allowance after four hours, unless a meal is supplied.

A broken shift is a shift split into separate periods with unpaid breaks in between, such as a morning and evening routine. The broken shift rules in clause 25.6 only apply to social and community services employees doing disability services work and to home care employees.

• An employer can roster a broken shift of 2 periods with 1 unpaid break (meal breaks aside). The worker gets $21.81 per broken shift.
• A broken shift of 3 periods with 2 unpaid breaks needs the employee's agreement before each occasion, unless it's part of their agreed regular pattern. It pays $28.87.
• The whole broken shift must fit in a 12-hour span. All work beyond 12 hours from the start is paid at double time.
• Each period is a separate shift for the 2-hour minimum. A break that falls inside a minimum payment period counts as time worked, not as a break.
• Shift loadings apply only to the periods that meet the afternoon or night definitions, and the night loading isn't payable just because a period starts before 6am.
• Broken shifts on consecutive days need at least a 10-hour break between them.

The calculator checks the span, the number of breaks and the 2-hour minimum for each period, and adds the right allowance.

A sleepover is when the employer requires a worker to sleep overnight at the premises where the client is located (clause 25.7). It's a continuous 8-hour period, and the employer must provide a separate room with a bed and clean linen, appropriate facilities and free board and lodging. The worker gets a flat sleepover allowance of $62.87 a night, which is 4.9% of the award's standard rate.

• If the worker is woken to work, that time is paid at overtime rates with a minimum of one hour. At Level 2 pay point 1 that is at least $54.33 for a permanent employee and $63.39 for a casual.
• Work rostered immediately before or after the sleepover must be at least 4 hours for at least one of those periods, paid in addition to the allowance.
• The sleepover is not a break. Work before and after it counts as the same shift, but each side is assessed separately for afternoon, night or public holiday loadings.
• By agreement, the break before a shift leading into a sleepover, or after a shift following one, can be 8 hours instead of 10.

Home care employees can instead work a 24-hour care shift by agreement, providing no more than 8 hours of care in the 24 hours and getting the chance to sleep 8 hours. It's paid as 8 hours at 155% of the employee's rate (clause 25.8). The calculator doesn't model 24-hour care shifts.

Several SCHADS rules sit outside the hourly rate but still affect pay:

• Minimum engagement. Part-time and casual employees doing disability services or home care work are paid at least 2 hours per shift or per broken-shift period. Other SACS work has a 3-hour minimum (clause 10.5).
• Roster notice. Rosters are posted at least two weeks ahead, and a change needs 7 days' notice unless it's an agreed swap or covers illness or an emergency (clause 25.5).
• Client cancellations. If a client cancels a service within 7 days and a full-time or part-time employee was rostered, the employer can give other work, pay the shift, or (with at least 12 hours' notice) offer make-up time within 6 weeks (clause 25.5(f)). Casuals are not covered by this clause. To work out what you can charge the participant, use the NDIS cancellation calculator.
• Days off. Non-casual employees get at least two full days off each week, four each fortnight or eight in a 28-day cycle (clause 25.3).
• Vehicle use. Driving your own car for work is reimbursed per kilometre. To bill the participant for provider travel, use the NDIS travel calculator.

When you build a roster for a shared home, the SIL roster of care tool helps you lay out shifts, sleepovers and active overnight support before you price them.

Because SCHADS pay depends on exact start and finish times, accurate timesheets matter. The Fair Work Ombudsman says employers must keep time and wage records for 7 years and issue pay slips within one working day of pay day. The records should show hours worked and the rates, loadings, penalties and allowances paid.

Since 1 January 2025, intentionally underpaying wages or entitlements can be a criminal offence. Honest mistakes are not included, but civil penalties and back-payments still apply. A regular check of rostered shifts against the award, like the one this calculator performs, is a cheap way to catch errors before they build up.

Base rate

The ordinary hourly rate for a classification: the full-time weekly rate ÷ 38.

Ordinary hours

Hours that are not overtime. Weekend, public holiday and shift rates apply to ordinary hours.

Afternoon shift

A Monday–Friday shift finishing after 8pm and at or before midnight. Attracts 12.5% for the whole shift.

Night shift

A Monday–Friday shift finishing after midnight or starting before 6am. Attracts 15% for the whole shift.

Broken shift

A shift worked in 2 or 3 periods with unpaid breaks, within a 12-hour span. Disability and home care work only.

Sleepover

An 8-hour overnight period where the worker is required to sleep at the client's premises. Paid by flat allowance.

Standard rate

The Level 3 pay point 3 weekly rate. Allowances like sleepover, on-call and broken shift are percentages of it.

Minimum engagement

The minimum hours paid per shift: 2 hours for part-time and casual disability services and home care work.