What is Sleepover?
A sleepover is an arrangement where a support worker stays overnight at a participant’s home to be available if needed, and is permitted to sleep. Under the SCHADS Award it attracts a flat sleepover allowance rather than hourly pay, plus payment at the appropriate rate for any period the worker is actually woken to work.
The allowance covers availability. Once the worker is required to perform work during the night, that time is paid separately at the applicable rate, and if the disturbance exceeds a threshold the whole period can convert to worked time.
Sleepovers are also claimed differently from how they are paid: the NDIS has its own overnight support items, and the pay cost and the claim value are not the same number. Treating them as one figure is a reliable way to lose money on SIL houses.
Award rules in clause 25.7
- A sleepover is when the employer requires the employee to sleep overnight where the client is located. It is not a 24-hour care shift or an excursion, which have their own rules.
- The span is a continuous 8 hours. The employee gets a separate room with a bed and clean linen, use of facilities, and free board and lodging.
- The sleepover allowance is 4.9% of the standard rate for each night.
- Work during the sleepover is paid at the overtime rate, with a minimum payment of one hour.
- If work is rostered immediately before or after the sleepover, at least one of those periods must be rostered or paid for at least 4 hours. The allowance is paid on top.
The NDIS night-time sleepover support
The NDIS has its own night-time sleepover item, such as 01_010_0107_1_1, Assistance With Self-Care Activities – Night-Time Sleepover. It covers a support that starts before midnight, finishes after midnight and runs for a continuous 8 hours or more, where the worker can sleep when not needed.
The item includes up to two hours of active support during the night. Active support beyond that is claimed separately under the pricing arrangements.
Keeping pay and claims aligned
Record every time the worker is woken, for how long and why. The same record drives the overtime payment and any extra claim, and gives the participant’s team evidence if overnight needs have changed.
- Note the start and finish of each period woken and the task performed.
- Pay the overtime with the minimum payment of one hour.
- Claim active support beyond the two hours in the sleepover item separately, under the pricing arrangements.
- Keep the sleepover allowance and any rostered work before and after the sleepover as separate pay lines.
How Rostery helps
Rostery interprets sleepovers under the SCHADS Award from approved actual times, including the allowance and overtime for time worked.
Questions people ask
Is a sleepover paid hourly?
No. The SCHADS Award pays a sleepover allowance of 4.9% of the standard rate per night, plus overtime for any time worked.
What if the worker is woken during a sleepover?
The time worked is paid at the overtime rate, with a minimum payment of one hour.
How much active support does the NDIS sleepover item include?
Up to two hours of active support during the night.
Is a sleepover the same as a 24-hour care shift?
No. A 24-hour care shift is a separate arrangement for home care employees under clause 25.8 of the award.
Checked against the official sources on 2 October 2026. Rules change: confirm the current position with the agency before you rely on it.
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Rostery handles this in practice
SCHADS interpretation, NDIS price-guide validation, claiming and the evidence an audit asks for — built for Australian providers.