SCHADS Award Updates: Everything You Need to Know About the Latest Changes

What was originally announced: the Commission's decision set an initial pay increase of up to 15% for home care employees performing disability care work (Schedule E), originally scheduled to start from 1 October 2026.

What's changed: according to the Fair Work Ombudsman, this increase has been pushed back and will now start from the first full pay period on or after 1 December 2026 instead.

What's still ahead: the remaining, broader changes, including new definitions, a new classification structure, updated pay point progression rules, and further pay rate changes, are set to take effect from 1 October 2027. Full detail on the new structure hasn't been published yet.

We'll keep this article updated as the Fair Work Commission releases more information. Read the Fair Work Ombudsman's update.

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• Part-time and casual employees now have a minimum engagement period:

  • 3 hours for Social and Community Services employees (excluding disability services work).

  • 2 hours for all other employees.

• This applies to broken shifts as well.

Example: Minimum Engagement Period

A part-time home care worker employed by an NDIS provider is rostered to support a client for one hour in the morning and again for one hour in the afternoon.

Under the updated SCHADS Award, the minimum engagement for home care employees is two hours per shift. Even if the actual work only takes one hour, the worker must be paid for two hours each time they are engaged.

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Employees can now work broken shifts with:

• Two periods of work (one unpaid break), or

• Three periods of work by agreement (two unpaid breaks).

Broken shift allowances apply:

• $21.81 per broken shift for one unpaid break
• $28.87 per broken shift for two unpaid breaks 

Example: Broken Shifts

Susan, a support worker in the social and community services sector, is rostered to work a shift on Wednesday that is broken up as follows:

• 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm
• 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm

This counts as a broken shift with two periods of work and one unpaid break. Under the SCHADS Award, Susan is entitled to a broken shift allowance of $21.81.
If the provider and Susan agree to work a broken shift of three periods, she would be entitled to a higher allowance of $28.87.

• This rule applies to social and community services employees performing disability services work and home care.

⚠️ These allowance amounts are reviewed annually and align with minimum wage adjustments. Check the latest Fair Work wage summaries to apply the correct allowance.
In addition to broken shift allowances, employees may also be entitled to other shift allowances, such as for afternoon, night, or public holiday shifts.

The SCHADS Award updates introduced several changes to allowances to ensure fair reimbursement for employees under specific circumstances:

Laundering allowance: $0.33 per shift. This applies if an employee's personal clothing (not including uniforms provided by the employer) becomes soiled in the course of their duties. To claim the allowance, employees must:

• Notify the employer as soon as practicable.

• Provide evidence if requested.

• Comply with relevant PPE requirements at the time of soiling.

Repair allowance: Reimbursement for damaged personal clothing (excluding uniforms) requiring repair or replacement. Eligibility conditions mirror the laundering allowance, and damage must not result from employee negligence.

On-call allowance: 

• $25.66 for any 24-hour period (or part of one) on call between the end of ordinary duty on Monday and the end of ordinary duty on Friday.
• $50.81 for any other 24-hour period (or part of one), including weekends and public holidays.

Employees performing remote work receive minimum payments, depending on the time of day the work is performed:

• 15-minute minimum payment for remote work performed between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm

• 30-minute minimum payment for remote work performed between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am

Any time worked beyond these minimum periods is rounded to the nearest 15 minutes.
For example, if an employee works 1 hour and 5 minutes, they must be paid for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

If an employee is not on-call and performs remote work, they must be paid at least one hour’s pay, including for remote staff meetings or training sessions.

Remote work may attract additional loading if performed:

• Outside of the employee's ordinary span of hours (6:00 am to 8:00 pm, Monday to Friday)

• As overtime

• On weekends or public holidays

Employees who perform remote work must maintain a timesheet detailing the hours worked, which must be submitted to their employer.

Recalled to Work

If an employee is recalled to work overtime after leaving the workplace, they are entitled to a minimum payment of two hours’ pay at the applicable overtime rate of pay.
Even if the work takes less than two hours to complete, the full two hours must be paid.

Overtime Rate Changes 

All time worked outside the normal span of hours has now also been included in the overtime rates for part-time and casual employees: 

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Client Cancellations and Make-Up Time

If an NDIS client (or any home care or disability service client) cancels or reschedules a service within 7 days of the scheduled shift, and a full-time or part-time employee was rostered to provide it, the employer must take one of two actions:

Note: these provisions don't apply to casual employees.

Alternatively, employers may offer employees make-up time to recoup the lost hours/pay, subject to certain conditions.

Conditions for Make-Up Time:
✅ Make-up time can only be offered if the employer gave at least 12 hours' notice of the shift cancellation. If less notice was given, the employee must simply be paid for the cancelled shift.
✅ The employer must consult the employee about the arrangement, in line with the SCHADS Award's consultation rules.
✅ The employee must be given at least 7 days' notice of the new make-up shift, unless a shorter period is agreed.
✅ The make-up time must be rostered within 6 weeks of the cancelled service.
✅ Employers do not need to reassign the employee to the same client, but the work must be suitable for the employee's skills and capacity.
✅ If the make-up shift is paid at a different rate than the cancelled service, the employee is paid the higher rate.

Example: Client Cancellation and Make-Up Time
Jordan is a part-time home care employee rostered to support a client from 9am to 12pm on Thursday. On Wednesday at 3pm, the client cancels Thursday's service.

Because Jordan's employer gave more than 12 hours' notice, they can offer make-up time instead of paying for the cancelled shift. Jordan agrees to work the same hours with a different client the following Thursday, more than 7 days later.

If the employer hadn't given at least 12 hours' notice, they'd have had no choice but to pay Jordan for the cancelled shift.

Roster Flexibility & Shift Swaps

Employees may now request roster changes to accommodate a shift swap with another employee.

The swap must be proposed by the employee and agreed to by the employer. This change provides greater flexibility for workers while maintaining employer oversight to ensure operational requirements are met.

24-Hour Care and Sleepover Shifts for Home Care Employees

Employers may only roster employees for 24-hour care shifts by mutual agreement.

During a 24-hour period:

• The employee must provide active care for no more than 8 hours.
• They are paid 155% of their ordinary hourly rate for the shift.

Overtime for Additional Hours:

150% (time and a half) for the first 2 overtime hours (Monday to Saturday)

• 200% (double time) for any hours beyond that (Monday to Saturday)
• 200% for overtime worked on a Sunday
• 250% for overtime worked on a public holiday

Sleep Arrangements:

The employee must be provided with:

• A separate room for sleeping

• A bed and appropriate facilities

• Free board and lodging for each overnight stay

• Employees also get access to food preparation facilities and staff facilities, where they exist.

Example: 24-Hour Care Shift

An NDIS home care worker agrees to a 24-hour shift.

They actively provide care for up to 8 hours and are paid for that 8 hours at 155% of their hourly rate.

If they provide additional care beyond 8 hours, overtime rates apply.

Employees who perform at least eight 24-hour care shifts during a year are classified as shift workers under the National Employment Standards (NES).

This classification entitles them to an extra week of annual leave, increasing their leave entitlement from 4 weeks to 5 weeks annually.

Example: Extra Annual Leave

An NDIS home care worker completes eight or more 24-hour care shifts over the year.
They are now entitled to five weeks of annual leave, rather than the standard four.

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