SCHADS Award rates in Australia 2025/2026

Quick casual pay rates reference 2025/26

Many SCHADS employers use casual workers. Here are the casual ordinary-hours rates for the most common stream and level combinations (Mon–Sun, 6.00 am–8.00 pm):

Quick summary for time-poor managers

The four compliance pillars that drive SCHADS underpayments

Most SCHADS underpayments trace back to one (or more) of these.

"Sanity check" minimum adult hourly rates (full-time equivalent, ordinary weekday hours)

• Home care (aged care) Level 2: $32.86/hr (from 1 Oct 2025)
• Home care (disability care) Level 2 Pay point 1: $27.55/hr
• Social & community services Level 2 Pay point 1 (ERO current rate): $34.58/hr
• Crisis accommodation Level 1 Pay point 1 (ERO current rate): $38.65/hr

Headline "big lever" penalties

• Saturday ordinary hours: 150%
• Sunday ordinary hours: 200%
• Public holiday: 250%
• Casual weekend (inclusive of casual loading): Saturday 175%, Sunday 225%
• Casual public holiday (inclusive): 275%

Award coverage

Does the SCHADS award apply? (quick self-check)

SCHADS covers employers throughout Australia in the:

• crisis assistance and supported housing sector
• social and community services sector
• home care sector
• family day care scheme sector

It also lists key exclusions

SCHADS does not cover employers/employees covered by (among others):

• Aged Care Award 2010
• Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2010
• Nurses Award 2010

Labour hire / on-hire note

SCHADS can apply to labour hire/on-hire employees when they're performing work in the covered industry sectors (subject to exclusions).

What is the SCHADS Award?

Think of MA000100 as the minimum "rulebook" you can't go below when it applies. It sets:

• minimum wages (by Schedule/classification/pay point)
• casual loading and minimum shift payments
• rostering structures (including broken shifts, sleepovers, on-call)
• penalty rates, overtime and shift loadings
• allowances (uniform/laundry, meal, vehicle, on-call, broken shift allowance, etc.)

Who it covers (and who it doesn't)

Common roles & likely classifications

Below are 10 common roles in disability, community and home care businesses, mapped to a most-likely SCHADS schedule/level shortlist. This is not a definitive classification. Final classification depends on actual duties and the relevant Schedule definitions in MA000100.

2025/26 pay rates overview

For the official rates, download the Pay Guide – SCHADS Award (MA000100) from Fair Work.

The SCHADS pay structure in one sentence

You must identify the right Schedule (stream) first, then the correct level and pay point, then apply casual loading/penalties/allowances as required.

Schedule B – social and community services (SACS)

Schedule B covers employees in social and community services who are not in home care, crisis accommodation, or family day care. This includes disability support workers (non-home care), support coordinators, case managers, intake workers, and community services roles.

Schedule B minimum weekly wages (ERO rates from 1 july 2025)

The table below shows indicative weekly rates for full-time employees (38 hours). Casual employees receive the hourly rate plus 25% casual loading. Pay points within each level reflect experience progression.

These are indicative ERO rates from 1 July 2025. The final ERO instalment applied in full since 1 December 2020; current rates reflect both the ERO and the 3.5% annual wage review from 1 July 2025. Verify using the SCHADS Pay Guide [MA000100] for current figures.

Schedule B classification levels explained

Classifications are based on duties, qualifications, and responsibility level. Common placements:

Classifications should be reviewed whenever duties change and at least annually.

Schedule C – crisis assistance and supported housing

Schedule C covers employees in crisis accommodation, supported housing, and refuge services. This includes crisis accommodation workers, refuge workers, and staff in homelessness services where the primary role involves crisis response or supported housing.

Schedule C minimum weekly wages (ERO rates from 1 july 2025)

Schedule C mirrors Schedule B rates for equivalent levels. ERO loadings apply. Verify using the SCHADS Pay Guide [MA000100].

Schedule C classification levels

Schedule D – family day care

Schedule D covers employees in family day care coordination and field staff roles. This does not include family day care educators who are typically self-employed. Schedule D covers coordination unit staff who support and monitor family day care educators.

Schedule D minimum weekly wages (from 1 july 2025)

Schedule D rates do NOT include ERO loadings. These are the standard Award minimum rates. Verify using the SCHADS Pay Guide [MA000100].

Schedule D classification levels

Home care employee wages (Schedules E & F)

SCHADS includes separate wage tables for home care employees. The key distinction is whether services are provided to an aged person or a person with disability. This affects which wage table applies and when rate changes occur.

Which home care table applies?

Home care employee – aged person (from 1 october 2025)

These rates apply from the first full pay period on or after 1 October 2025 for home care employees providing services to an aged person.

Indicative rates from 1 October 2025. Verify using the SCHADS Pay Guide [MA000100].

Home care employee – disability services (from 1 july 2025)

These rates apply from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2025 for home care employees providing services to a person with disability.

Standard Award minimum rates from 1 July 2025. Verify using the SCHADS Pay Guide [MA000100].

Home care classification levels

Employment types and rostering (the rules that drive overtime)

Ordinary hours (core rule)

Ordinary hours are 38 per week, or can be averaged over longer cycles (e.g., 76 per fortnight or 152 over 4 weeks) under the Award's rostering framework. If you run repeating roster patterns, roster templates help standardise compliant cycles and reduce last-minute edits.

Span of ordinary hours (day worker vs shiftworker)

• Day worker ordinary hours: 6.00 am to 8.00 pm Monday to Sunday
• Shiftworker: regularly rostered outside those hours

Rosters and roster changes

• Rosters must be displayed and generally shown at least two weeks before the roster period starts.
• 7 days' notice is required for roster changes (with illness/emergency exceptions).

If you want fewer roster-change mistakes and clearer compliance controls, consider using rostering software built for award compliance. To reduce manual errors, some providers use auto-scheduling that builds rosters around availability and compliance rules. For unplanned absences, managed shift swaps can reduce last-minute roster change errors and improve coverage.

Notice obligations are easier to meet when you can notify staff of roster changes in one place. Using daily, weekly and monthly roster views makes it easier to spot weekend work, long spans, and coverage gaps before payroll. A mobile rostering app helps staff see rosters and changes quickly, which supports notice requirements and reduces disputes.

Minimum engagements (easy payroll trap)

Minimum engagement rules apply to part-time and casual employees (not full-time employees):

• SACS employees (other than disability services work): minimum payment of 3 hours per engagement
• All other SCHADS employees (home care, disability services, crisis accommodation, day care): minimum payment of 2 hours per engagement
• Tip: Record each "engagement" clearly (call-in, split attendance, late cancellation) so payroll can apply the correct minimum.

Good availability tracking reduces short shifts, late changes, and accidental minimum engagement breaches. Facilities often use a kiosk time clock to capture start/finish times consistently across teams.

Broken shifts (common in community-style rostering)

Broken shifts are tightly defined and only apply to home care employees and social and community services employees when undertaking disability services work. They do not apply to all SCHADS employees.

• Maximum span: 12 hours from start to finish
• Work beyond a 12-hour span is paid at double time
• Must be by mutual agreement (in writing)
• Each portion must still meet the minimum engagement requirement for the employee type
• At least a 10-hour break must be provided between broken shifts on successive days

Broken shift allowances (from 1 July 2025):

• 1 unpaid break: $20.82
• 2 unpaid breaks (by agreement): $27.56

Tools with automatic compliance warnings can flag minimum engagement breaches, broken shift spans, and penalty-rate risks before you publish the roster.

Note: This checker does not assess whether each portion of a broken shift meets the minimum engagement requirement (2 hours per portion for part-time and casual employees). This must be checked separately.

Sleepovers (only if you follow the clause)

A sleepover means sleeping in to be on call for emergencies, with conditions including:

• Sleepover span: 8 hours (not 8–10 hours — the Award sets an 8-hour span)
• Free board and lodging; separate room
• Sleepover allowance: 4.9% of the standard rate for each continuous 8-hour sleepover night (not a flat dollar amount — the allowance is percentage-based)
• At least one of the periods immediately before or after the sleepover must be rostered or paid as at least 4 hours of work
• Work performed during the sleepover period is paid at overtime rates, with a minimum payment of 1 hour per call-out regardless of how short the interruption is.
• Keep written records of each sleepover arrangement and any call-outs (time, duration, reason) to support correct payment and audit defensibility.

During high-pressure periods, live attendance helps managers see who is currently on site and respond to gaps quickly.

On-call and recall

SCHADS includes specific provisions for on-call arrangements and recalls to work. These are separate from sleepovers.

Right to disconnect (clause 25A)

The SCHADS Award now includes a right to disconnect clause (clause 25A). This applies from 26 August 2024 for non-small business employers and from 26 August 2025 for small business employers.

• An employee may refuse to monitor, read, or respond to contact from the employer outside their working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable.
• The Award expressly preserves the employer's ability to contact employees for: on-call notifications, emergency roster changes, and recall to work.
• Employers should review any after-hours communication expectations in their policies and employment contracts.

Remote work payments (clause 25.10)

Clause 25.10 covers employer-directed or authorised work performed outside rostered ordinary hours, not contiguous with a shift, and not at a designated workplace. Minimum payments apply:

• On call, 6.00 am–10.00 pm: minimum 15 minutes per contact
• On call, 10.00 pm–6.00 am: minimum 30 minutes per contact
• Not on call: minimum 1 hour
• Staff meetings or training done remotely: minimum 1 hour

24-hour care

The 24-hour care provision (clause 25.8) applies only to home care employees. It is distinct from sleepovers and standard shift work, and requires agreement between the employer and employee.

• No more than 8 hours of active care may be rostered within the 24-hour period
• The employee is paid 8 hours at 155% of the appropriate rate for the 24-hour period
• Work performed in addition to the 8-hour active care component is paid at overtime rates
• The employee must be provided with suitable accommodation and board

Client cancellations (NDIS and home care)

Client cancellations are a significant compliance area for NDIS providers and home care services. The Award requires payment in certain circumstances even when the service does not proceed.

Travel between clients (home care specific)

For home care employees who travel between clients during a shift, travel time between consecutive client appointments is counted as time worked and paid accordingly.

• Travel time between clients during a shift = paid time (part of ordinary hours or overtime as applicable)
• Travel from home to first client = generally not paid (unless otherwise agreed)
• Travel from last client to home = generally not paid (unless otherwise agreed)
• Vehicle/travel allowance may also apply (see Allowances section)

Penalty rates and overtime (where underpayments happen)

Weekend ordinary hours (non-casual)

If ordinary hours include weekend work:

• Saturday (midnight Fri–midnight Sat): time and a half (150%)
• Sunday (midnight Sat–midnight Sun): double time (200%)

These weekend rates substitute for (and are not cumulative on) shift premiums.

Weekend work (casual)

Casual weekend rates are:

• Saturday: 175% of the ordinary hourly rate
• Sunday: 225% of the ordinary hourly rate (inclusive of casual loading)

These substitute for the casual loading (no stacking).

Penalty substitution rules (no stacking)

Shift allowances (afternoon/night shifts)

Shift allowances add the following to the ordinary rate:

• Afternoon shift (finishes after 8.00 pm and by midnight, Mon–Fri): 12.5%
• Night shift (finishes after midnight OR commences before 6.00 am, Mon–Fri): 15%

Plus an important condition for employees working less than 38 hours/week (eligibility depends on start/finish timing).

Public holidays

Work on a public holiday is paid at 250% of the ordinary hourly rate for non-casual employees and 275% for casual employees (inclusive of casual loading).

Substitution of a public holiday by agreement is permitted under the Award. However, there is no annual election system for public holidays — the concept of an employee electing annually to substitute public holiday pay for annual leave does not apply under the SCHADS Award.

Compliance tip: Do not configure payroll systems with an annual election mechanism for public holidays. Apply 250% (non-casual) or 275% (casual) for work performed on a public holiday, unless a specific substitution agreement is in place for that day.

For casual employees, payment is 275% for hours worked on a public holiday, inclusive of casual loading and in substitution for weekend rates (no stacking).

Public holiday pay rates summary

Overtime rates (use the trigger rules, not memory)

Overtime rates vary by stream (schedule) under SCHADS. The key distinction is between SACS/Crisis accommodation and other streams:

SACS and crisis accommodation (Schedules B & C):

• Mon–Fri: 150% for the first 3 hours, then 200%
• Sunday: 200%
• Public holiday: 250%

Disability services, home care, day care (Schedules D, E & F):

• Mon–Fri: 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200%
• Sunday: 200%
• Public holiday: 250%

Part-time and casual: overtime is triggered by work beyond:

• 38 hours per week or 76 hours per fortnight
• 10 hours in a day
• Hours outside the agreed ordinary-hours span for that employee's day-worker arrangement
• Hours exceeding agreed contracted hours (for part-time, where no written variation agreement exists)

Written part-time agreements are critical to managing overtime exposure.

Casual overtime: expressed in the Award as inclusive rates (e.g. 187.5% then 250%, weekend 250%, public holiday 312.5%). Do not add casual loading on top of these rates. Payroll systems must be configured to either: (a) pay the inclusive rate, or (b) calculate base + loading + overtime so the total equals the Award percentage.

Recall to work (minimum payment risk)

If recalled to work overtime after leaving, there's a minimum 2 hours' pay at the appropriate overtime rate per recall. A centralised team messaging channel reduces missed messages about swaps, recalls, or last-minute coverage needs.

9. allowances (entitlements outside of wages)

Many operators overlook or under-claim allowances. Review this checklist quarterly:

Tip: Allowances are often missed when embedded in shift events rather than default rules. Audit one pay period per quarter.

10. leave entitlements

Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to the National Employment Standards (NES) leave provisions. Casual employees are not entitled to paid leave (but can accrue unpaid entitlements where applicable) and must be given a Casual Employment Information Statement on engagement.

Portable long service leave: Community services and contract cleaning workers may be covered by portable LSL schemes in some states (e.g., Victoria, ACT). Check your state's requirements—schemes may apply to disability support, home care, and other SCHADS-covered work.

Recent legislation changes SCHADS employers need to know

The Fair Work framework has seen significant changes since 2024. SCHADS employers should be aware of the following updates and their compliance obligations:

11. compliance plan - interactive checklist

Use this checklist to audit your practices against Award requirements:

12. common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

These issues appear regularly in Fair Work audits of SCHADS employers:

1. wrong schedule applied

Mistake: Paying all employees from one wage table when multiple schedules apply (SACS, Crisis, Family Day Care, Home Care).

Fix: Identify which schedule applies to each role based on the work performed. Use SACS (Schedule B) for community service workers, Crisis (Schedule C) for crisis accommodation, Day Care (Schedule D) for family day care coordination, and Home Care (Schedules E/F) for in-home support.

2. missing the october 2025 aged care home care increase

Mistake: Not updating home care employee rates from 1 October 2025 when providing services to aged persons.

Fix: Set a calendar reminder. Home care employees caring for aged persons (65+, or 50+ for Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander) receive an additional increase from 1 October 2025—separate from the 1 July annual review.

3. broken shift span violations

Mistake: Scheduling broken shifts where the span exceeds 12 hours or includes more than 2 breaks.

Fix: Use the broken shift checker above and configure your roster system to flag non-compliant patterns.

4. No written part-time agreements

Mistake: Part-time employees working variable hours without documented agreements, triggering overtime on all hours above the assumed minimum.

Fix: Maintain written agreements specifying agreed hours, days, and start/finish times. Document any variations in writing.

5. casual overtime calculated incorrectly

Mistake: Adding casual loading on top of overtime rates when the Award specifies inclusive percentages.

Fix: Configure payroll to either pay the Award's stated inclusive rate OR calculate components that sum to the correct total—never add loading on top of an already-inclusive rate.

6. missing allowances

Mistake: Not paying on-call, vehicle, uniform, or laundry allowances when employees are entitled.

Fix: Quarterly audit of allowance entitlements against actual payments. Add allowance triggers to roster/timesheet workflows.

7. public holiday election not recorded

Mistake: Assuming all employees want extra payment when some have elected time-in-lieu (or vice versa).

Fix: Capture election on commencement and at each anniversary. Store in employee record and apply correct calculation.

13. final takeaways

• Know which schedule applies: SACS (B), Crisis (C), Family Day Care (D), or Home Care (E/F). Each has different wage tables and conditions.
• ERO rates for SACS employees: Schedule B employees receive Equal Remuneration Order loadings—use the ERO rates, not base Award rates.
• Watch the October 2025 increase: Home care employees caring for aged persons get an additional increase from 1 October 2025—separate from July.
• Document part-time agreements: Written agreements specifying hours, days, and times are mandatory. Review and update when patterns change.
• Broken shift rules are strict: Maximum 2 breaks, 12-hour span, broken shift allowance applies. Critical for home care and disability support.
• Penalties don't stack: Weekend rates substitute for shift allowances. Casual rates substitute for casual loading. Get your payroll system configured correctly.
• Sleepover ≠ ordinary hours: Sleepover allowance applies unless disturbed—then minimum call-out rates kick in.
• Client cancellation rules: NDIS and home care employees have specific entitlements when clients cancel at short notice.
• Travel between clients: For home care employees, travel time between consecutive clients during a shift is paid time.
• Use compliant rostering tools: Modern systems can flag non-compliant patterns before they become payroll problems.

Need help implementing compliant rostering? RosterElf's Award interpretation engine automates penalty calculations for the Aged Care Award.