Update for 1 July 2026
SCHADS Award minimum rates rose 4.75% in the Fair Work Commission Annual Wage Review, effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Every rate, penalty, and allowance on this page reflects the new figures.
Teiro keeps SCHADS rates current automatically, so your rosters, quotes, and pay never run on last year’s figures.
What SIL is and why rostering is complex
SIL is NDIS funded support for participants who live in a shared or individual dwelling and require ongoing, usually 24-hour support to live as independently as possible. A typical 3-bed SIL house may have two or three residents, each funded for different support ratios, across all hours of the day.
The rostering complexity comes from several overlapping constraints:
- Support must be continuous - every shift handover is a compliance risk if not managed carefully.
- Overnight support can take either a sleepover form or an active night form, and the cost difference is significant.
- Multiple NDIS funding streams may be active at any time across the house's residents.
- Workers in SIL houses often work long consecutive shifts, affecting fatigue management and overtime obligations.
How sleepover shifts work
Sleepover allowance: $62.87 flat rate per night (effective 1 July 2026)
A sleepover shift is a period of up to 8 hours overnight during which a worker is required to be present at the premises but is allowed to sleep. The worker is not engaged in active support for the duration of the sleepover.
The flat rate covers the entire sleepover period regardless of its length, provided it does not exceed 8 hours. It is paid in addition to any other pay the worker receives for work performed that night. A sleepover is not a paid shift in the ordinary sense - the worker receives the $62.87 allowance for being available overnight, not their hourly rate for 8 hours.
Legal note
Federal Court and Fair Work Commission decisions have confirmed that sleepover periods under the SCHADS Award are distinct from ordinary shift hours — they do not count toward maximum shift lengths or trigger overtime in the same way a worked shift does. If your roster structure is challenged on this basis, seek independent legal advice and check for any current proceedings that may affect the interpretation.
When a sleepover becomes an active night
If a worker is required to get up and perform active support during a sleepover, they are entitled to payment for that active time at their ordinary rate, with a minimum of one hour's pay at overtime rates.
There is no defined number of disturbances that automatically converts the entire sleepover to an active night shift. Each period of active work during a sleepover is paid separately. If a worker is called up twice during the night, they are paid for each active period (minimum 1 hour each at overtime rates).
Important: If a participant's support plan indicates high likelihood of overnight disturbance - due to epilepsy, complex behaviours, or high personal care needs - rostering a sleepover is often inappropriate. Repeated disturbances create retroactive pay obligations, audit risk, and may be flagged as a support quality issue. An active night shift, while more expensive, may be the correct response.
Structuring a compliant 24/7 SIL roster
Option A: Sleepover roster
| Shift type | SCHADS treatment |
|---|---|
| Day shift (morning) | Ordinary hours |
| Afternoon shift | Afternoon penalty if finishing after defined afternoon span |
| Sleepover | $62.87 flat allowance, active time paid separately |
Option B: Active night roster
| Shift type | SCHADS treatment |
|---|---|
| Day shift | Ordinary hours |
| Afternoon/evening shift | Afternoon penalty rate |
| Active night shift | Night penalty rate (115% rotating / 130% dedicated — see MA000100) |
The SCHADS Award provides a night-shift penalty that applies to the whole qualifying shift, not just the hours between midnight and 6:00 am. For permanent workers on a rotating night roster, the loading is 15% above base rate (115% total). For casuals, the 25% casual loading is added on top, giving 140% of the ordinary rate.
Workers permanently rostered to night shifts only (a dedicated or non-rotating night roster — common in SIL houses that use one worker solely for waking nights) attract a higher loading of 30%, giving 130% of base rate. Costing these workers at 115% understates the actual wage obligation.
Handover time
Factor in handover time between shifts. If your roster has a 15-minute handover period, you need to pay both the outgoing and incoming worker for that overlap. Do not roster handover time as unpaid.
Staffing FTE required
A 24/7 roster for a single SIL house requires approximately 5 to 6 FTE to cover shifts, sick leave, public holidays, and annual leave without excessive overtime. Many providers underestimate this and run lean rosters that generate regular overtime or require casuals to fill gaps.
Cost difference: sleepover roster vs active night roster
Scenario: 3-bed SIL house, one dedicated waking-night worker, Level 3.1 permanent (a conservative/upper reference — the modal frontline SIL worker is Level 2, but Level 3.1 is common for experienced or behavioural-support-focused roles). The waking-night worker is modelled at the dedicated/non-rotating rate (130%) — the typical SIL waking-night position. For a rotating pool where workers alternate between night and day shifts, use 115%.
Sleepover roster
| Component | Cost/night |
|---|---|
| Sleepover allowance | $62.87 |
| 1 disturbance (1 hr OT) | $60.74 |
| Total (approx) | $123.61 |
Active night roster (8 hrs)
| Component | Cost/night |
|---|---|
| Night penalty rate (130% — dedicated) | $421.10 |
| Total (approx) | $421.10 |
The difference per night is approximately $297 (dedicated waking-night worker at 130%). Across a full year (365 nights), the difference between a sleepover and an active night roster for one overnight worker is approximately $109,000 per year per SIL house. Using the rotating-pool rate (115%, $372.51/night) gives a ~$91,000/year gap — but most SIL houses with a dedicated waking-night position should use the 130% figure.
The right decision depends on what the participants actually need, not what is cheapest. Using sleepovers when participants genuinely require active overnight support creates both a compliance risk and a quality risk.
NDIS SIL funding and the SCHADS cost squeeze
NDIS SIL funding is calculated based on the support needs of individual participants. In practice, many SIL providers find that the funded amount does not fully cover SCHADS-compliant labour costs, particularly:
- Weekend and public holiday penalty rates (150% Saturdays, 200% Sundays, 250% public holidays for permanent workers)
- Active night shifts where sleepover classification is not appropriate
- Handover time and travel time within the house's operations
From 1 July 2026, SCHADS minimum rates rose 4.75%. Superannuation is 12% (unchanged — the SG rate reached 12% on 1 July 2025). For the current NDIS SIL funding price limits, check the NDIS Pricing Arrangements 2026-27 on the NDIS website — do not assume last year's prices apply. Providers managing SIL need to track actual cost per shift against funded rate and model the impact of overtime, penalty rates, and disturbance payments on each house's viability.