The Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services (SCHADS) award sets out exactly how much disability care providers should pay their staff. But the award is complex, and many businesses accidentally underpay workers by overlooking two important things: penalties and allowances.
Both penalties and allowances can increase your NDIS workers’ standard rate of pay. Keep reading to find out what they are, when they apply and how your NDIS business can stay SCHADS-compliant.
SCHADS Award Penalties
Under the SCHADS award, workers are entitled to increased rates of pay when working non-standard hours. This is called a penalty rate, and it applies to evenings, nights, weekends and public holidays.
What are the SCHADS Award Penalty Rates?
Penalties are calculated as a percentage of the staff member’s regular hourly rate. The current SCHADS award penalty rates are:
- Afternoon shift (8pm to midnight): 112.5% of the hourly rate
- Night shift (midnight to 6am): 115%
- Saturday shift: 150%
- Sunday shift: 200%
- Public holiday: 250%
These penalties aren’t cumulative, and the highest applicable rate always applies. In other words, when a staff member works on a Saturday afternoon, you should pay them the Saturday penalty (150%) rather than the afternoon one (112.5%).
Let’s break this down with an example of level 4, pay point 2 support coordinators. Under the current SCHADS award, they should be paid a minimum hourly rate of $30.23. This means that in penalty conditions, their hourly rate would become:
| Standard rate | $30.23 |
| Afternoons (20:00–23:59) | $34.01 |
| Nights (00:00–6:00) | $34.76 |
| Saturdays | $43.35 |
| Sundays | $60.46 |
| Public holidays | $75.58 |
Don’t forget that the SCHADS award updates every year. If you’re manually calculating penalties, double-check you’ve got the latest rates from the Fair Work Commission. Or, if you’re using NDIS software like ShiftCare, just keep your software updated. ShiftCare has the most recent SCHADS and NDIS rates built-in so you don’t have to worry about underpaying staff.
SCHADS Award Penalties and Annual Leave Loading
When full-time and part-time shiftworkers take annual leave, they’re entitled to their full rate of regular pay. This includes penalties.
Under the SCHADS award, you should pay them the higher of:
- An annual leave loading of 17.5% of their ordinary hourly rate
- The weekend and shift penalties they would have received had they worked during their period of annual leave
SCHADS Award Allowances
Allowances protect NDIS workers’ rights by ensuring they’re compensated for work expenses and other work-related inconveniences. Some allowances are calculated per shift or occurrence, while others are weekly. This means they can easily be overlooked when manually running payroll.
Common SCHADS Award Allowances Affecting NDIS Businesses
- Broken shift (one unpaid break): $20.12 per broken shift
- Broken shift (two unpaid breaks): $26.63 per broken shift
- First-aid allowance: $19.76/week (full-time employees) or $0.52/hour up to a maximum of $19.76/week (part-time and casual staff)
- On-call allowance (Mon–Fri): $23.67 per 24-hour period
- On-call allowance (weekends and public holidays): $46.87 per 24-hour period
- Sleepover allowance: $57.99 per sleepover, plus overtime pay (minimum one hour) for any work done during the sleepover and a minimum four-hour rate for a shift immediately before or after the sleepover
- Vehicle allowance: $0.99/km
Understanding the SCHADS Award: Beyond Penalties & Allowances
The SCHADS award covers much more than just penalties and allowances. It establishes standard and overtime pay rates, staff career progression, annual leave entitlement and break durations. With over 3,000 different rates of pay, it’s incredibly detailed.
Complying with the SCHADS award is essential. Even unintentional mistakes can have serious consequences for an NDIS business, from fines through to backdated pay and increased paperwork. And that’s without considering the issues it can cause for your contracts with NDIS participants and their funds usage.
Our NDIS software will help automate SCHADS award interpretation so you can build SCHADS-compliant rosters and ensure your workers are paid correctly. But you can also find out more about your obligations by downloading our free ebook. It shares everything you need to know about the SCHADS award, from penalties and allowances to the award classification structure and more.
Try ShiftCare today by signing up for a 7-day free trial.
FAQ
1. What are the rules for a broken shift?
Under the SCHADS award, broken shifts must:
- Span no more than 12 hours
- Include no more than one unpaid break or, with the worker’s consent, two unpaid breaks
- Have a minimum 10-hour break between shifts
2. What is the sleepover allowance for SCHADS?
Disability care workers are entitled to a $57.99 sleepover allowance under SCHADS, applicable every time they work a sleepover shift.
3. How does the SCHADS Award apply to weekend and public holiday shifts?
The SCHADS Award includes penalty rates for weekend and public holiday shifts, ensuring workers receive higher pay for work outside standard hours. NDIS employers must apply these rates correctly to stay compliant.
4. What allowances are NDIS providers required to pay under the SCHADS Award?
The SCHADS Award outlines several allowances, including for overtime, travel, meal breaks, and sleepovers, which compensate workers for additional duties or expenses incurred while performing their roles.
5. How can NDIS employers manage SCHADS Award penalties efficiently?
Automating payroll with SCHADS-compliant rostering and payroll software, like ShiftCare, ensures penalty rates and allowances are correctly applied, reducing errors and improving compliance.
6. What happens if an NDIS provider does not comply with SCHADS Award penalties?
Failure to meet SCHADS Award requirements can result in underpayments, penalties, and legal action. Employers must track hours, breaks, and allowances correctly to avoid compliance breaches.
