Sleepover or Active Night?
- NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, Table 61
- SCHADS cl 25.7
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Does the shift start before midnight and finish after it?
How long is the overnight period, without a break?
Both the NDIS and the award use 8 continuous hours.
Is the worker allowed to sleep when they are not giving support?
The award also requires a separate room, a bed, clean linen and use of facilities (cl 25.7(c)).
Is the worker expected to be awake and working for most of the night?
For example, regular repositioning, monitoring or care through the night.
How many hours of active support are usually given overnight?
For the dollar figures
Under both the NDIS and SCHADS
A sleepover
It meets the NDIS definition of a Night-time Sleepover Support and is a sleepover under the award.
NDIS, most you can claim
$311.79
SCHADS, minimum pay
$117.20
NDIS
SCHADS
Figures use a weekday for the whole night. NDIS amounts are maximums from the Pricing Schedule 2026-27. Overtime tiers are counted from the first hour of work during the sleepover.
Night-time Sleepover Support
Any support delivered on a weekday, Saturday, Sunday or public holiday that:
- starts before midnight on a day and finishes after midnight on that day;
- runs for a continuous period of 8 hours or more;
- lets the worker sleep when they are not providing support.
Where more than 2 hours of active support is given, the provider may claim the third and later hours at Saturday rates on weekdays, or at the applicable rate on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. The first 2 hours are covered by the sleepover price of $311.79 a night (01_010_0107_1_1).
Sleepover
- The employer requires the employee to sleep overnight where the client is, including respite care. A 24-hour care shift or an excursion is not a sleepover (25.7(a)).
- A continuous 8-hour span, with a separate room, bed, clean linen, facilities and free board and lodging (25.7(c)).
- An allowance of $62.87 for each night, 4.9% of the standard rate (25.7(d)).
- Work during the sleepover is paid at the overtime rate, with at least 1 hour paid; past 1 hour, overtime for the time worked (25.7(e)).
- Work may be rostered just before and after it, and at least 4 hours must be rostered or paid for one of those periods, on top of the allowance (25.7(f)).
- By agreement, up to 12 ordinary hours can span a sleepover, with no more than 8 before or after it (25.1(c)).
- The sleepover is not a break: the work before and after is one shift, but each part is assessed separately for shift loadings (25.4(c), 29.3(d)).
Not stated in the award:how a sleepover combines with a broken shift. Clause 29.4 says a shift may include sleepovers “except where broken in accordance with clause 25.6”, but nothing more.
Rates from 1 July 2026
Minimum rates apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. Disability home care rates are due to change: the 2026 Annual Wage Review decision ([2026] FWCFB 3500) sets a work value increase and a new classification structure for disability home care workers, to be implemented by 1 October 2027. The amounts and dates are not in the award yet. We will update this tool when the award is varied.
Two rule books, one night
An overnight shift is priced under the NDIS and paid under the SCHADS Award, and each has its own idea of a sleepover. They line up closely: both expect the worker to stay overnight for at least 8 hours with the chance to sleep. Where they differ is in how work during the night is handled.
- NDIS. One price per night covers the sleepover and up to 2 hours of active support. From the third hour, the provider can claim the extra hours, at Saturday rates on a weekday.
- SCHADS. A flat allowance for the night, and every period of work during it paid at overtime rates with a 1-hour minimum. Work rostered before or after the sleepover must total at least 4 hours on one side.
So 1 hour of active support costs you overtime wages but adds nothing to the claim, while the NDIS only starts paying for active hours after the second. If the worker is up for most of the night, neither rule book treats it as a sleepover: it is an overnight hourly support and a night shift.
The questionnaire uses assistance with self-care, the most common sleepover item. Check other supports in the NDIS Price Guide, and award rates in the SCHADS Pay Rate Calculator. Rostery records active hours against each sleepover so both the claim and the pay come out right.
Further reading
- SIL Provider Operations: A Complete Operational GuideA practical guide to running an NDIS SIL house: roster of care, staffing ratios, shared supports, Practice Standards and the daily systems that keep it compliant.
- New SIL Registration (Group 0138): What Providers Must DoFrom 1 July 2026, SIL registration is mandatory under new Group 0138. Here are the key 2026 dates, who must register, the new SIL Practice Standards, and a clear checklist for providers.
- SCHADS Sleepover Allowances Explained (2026 Rates)What the SCHADS sleepover allowance is worth in 2026, how the new clause 25.4 rules work, and exactly what NDIS providers must pay for overnight support.
What this tool follows
- Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide: SCHADS Award [MA000100], from 1 July 2026: published 24 June 2026; minimum hourly, penalty, overtime and allowance rates from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026
- Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 [MA000100]: award text consolidated to 1 September 2026; cl 25.1(c), 25.4, 25.7 (sleepovers), 28 (overtime), 29.2 to 29.4 (shiftwork) and 20 (allowances)
- Fair Work Commission: Annual Wage Review decision [2026] FWCFB 3500 (2 June 2026): 4.75% increase to modern award rates from 1 July 2026; disability home care work value change to be implemented by 1 October 2027 (para [72](7))
- NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27: Part 4, Table 61: Night-time Sleepover Support definition and the rule for active support past 2 hours; maximum amounts
- NDIS Support Catalogue 2026-27 v1.1: 01_010_0107_1_1 and the self-care hourly items
General information only, not financial, legal or claiming advice. Always check a claim against the current official documents.
Questions people ask
What is a sleepover under the NDIS?
The NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 (Table 61) defines a Night-time Sleepover Support as a support that starts before midnight and finishes after it, runs for a continuous 8 hours or more, and lets the worker sleep when they are not giving support. It is claimed per night, up to $311.79 for assistance with self-care (01_010_0107_1_1) in a non-remote area.
Can I claim active support during an NDIS sleepover?
Yes, once it passes 2 hours. Where more than 2 hours of active support is given, the provider may claim the third and later hours at Saturday rates on weekdays, or at the applicable rates on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. The first 2 hours are covered by the sleepover price.
What is the SCHADS sleepover allowance?
$62.87 for each night from 1 July 2026, which is 4.9% of the standard rate (cl 25.7(d)). Any work the employee does during the sleepover is paid on top at the overtime rate, with at least 1 hour paid.
How many hours of active support turn a sleepover into an active night?
Neither the NDIS Pricing Schedule nor the SCHADS Award sets a number. The test is whether the worker is allowed to sleep when not giving support. If they are expected to be awake and working through the night, treat it as an active night: claim the overnight hourly price and pay the night shift or weekend rate.
Does the worker have to work before or after a SCHADS sleepover?
The employer may roster work immediately before and after it, and must roster or pay at least 4 hours for at least one of those periods. The allowance is paid on top of that. By agreement, up to 12 ordinary hours can span a sleepover, with no more than 8 hours before or after it.
Can a sleepover be part of a broken shift?
The award does not say. Clause 29.4 describes a shift as one continuous block that may include sleepovers, except where it is broken under clause 25.6, and goes no further. Get advice before rostering the two together.
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