If you’re an NDIS provider, ensuring payroll and HR compliance is crucial. That’s because most of your staff are covered by the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services (SCHADS) Award 2010. This Award sets the rules for pay rates, work classifications, allowances, rosters, and entitlements across the disability and community services sector.
For NDIS providers, understanding the SCHADS Award isn’t just about ticking a compliance box. It’s about making sure your staff are treated fairly, paid correctly, and supported in ways that help you deliver better services to participants.
The SCHADS Award (Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010) is the backbone of workplace rules in this sector. One of the most important things to get right is knowing who the Award applies to and what kinds of employment arrangements it recognises.
In this article, we’ll focus on one of the most important starting points: who the SCHADS Award applies to and the types of employment relationships it recognises. Getting this right ensures that staff are correctly classified, fairly paid, and given the right entitlements from the outset.
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The SCHADS Award applies to a wide range of employers and employees across Australia in the social and community services, home care, crisis assistance and supported housing, and family day care sectors. This includes employees who work directly in these areas and those in specific classifications listed under the Award. For NDIS providers, this means most frontline staff and support workers providing direct care and assistance to participants are covered.
Coverage examples include:
The SCHADS Award does not cover all employees in these sectors. Key exclusions include:
Additional points to keep in mind:
Misclassifying employees, such as treating someone as a contractor when they are actually covered by the SCHADS Award, is a common compliance risk and can lead to underpayment and legal penalties.
Always verify the correct award coverage and classification for each employee before finalising employment arrangements.
The SCHADS Award recognises three main types of employment: full-time, part-time, and casual. Each type comes with specific rules and entitlements that NDIS providers must understand to ensure compliance and fair treatment of staff.
Full-time employees are engaged to work 38 hours per week or an average of 38 hours across a roster period.
They are entitled to the full range of leave and benefits under the Award, including annual leave, personal/carer’s leave, public holidays, notice of termination, and redundancy pay.
Full-time employees have a stable and predictable schedule, making workforce planning simpler for providers.
Part-time employees work less than 38 hours per week, but their hours are regular and predictable.
Before starting, employers and employees must agree in writing on a regular pattern of work, including the number of hours, the days they will work, and start and finish times.
Any changes to these hours require agreement from both parties in writing.
If a part-time employee has regularly worked more than their agreed hours for at least 12 months, they can request an increase in guaranteed hours.
The employer must respond and can only refuse on reasonable business grounds after discussion with the employee.
Part-time employees receive the same entitlements as full-time staff, but on a pro-rata basis, reflecting their reduced hours.
Casual employees do not have guaranteed hours and are engaged as needed.
They are paid hourly, including a 25% casual loading instead of paid leave entitlements like annual or personal leave.
Casual employees are still entitled to superannuation and other mandatory benefits
Part-time and casual employees must be paid for a minimum number of hours for each shift or broken shift, calculated at their standard rate.
For social and community services employees, the minimum is usually three hours per shift, except when they are providing disability services.
For all other employees, the minimum payment is two hours per shift.
When engaging staff, employers need to clearly explain the type of employment at the start. Each employment type comes with its own rules for notice, working hours, pay, and leave entitlements.
Casual employees enjoy flexibility and typically receive higher hourly rates, but they don’t get paid leave or redundancy.
Full-time and part-time employees, on the other hand, have more predictable schedules and access to all entitlements.
Employers also have a responsibility to handle requests from casual staff fairly, whether it’s about increasing hours or converting to a permanent role, responding in writing and negotiating in good faith to ensure transparency and fairness.
Understanding these employment types under the SCHADS Award is crucial for NDIS providers. It ensures correct pay, compliance with the Award, and fair treatment, which in turn supports staff satisfaction, retention, and quality of care for participants.
For different awards, just as rules around pay and entitlements can vary, the required notice periods for ending employment can also differ. Therefore, it’s important to look specifically at how the SCHADS Award handles notice and redundancy.
The notice period an employer or employee must give when ending employment depends on the employee’s continuous service.
Continuous service means the total length of time an employee has been employed by the business. It includes things like authorised unpaid leave (for example, unpaid parental leave). It does not include unauthorised absences or leave taken without approval.
The minimum notice periods are:
Keep in Mind:
Redundancy applies when an employee’s role is no longer required due to business changes. In these cases, employees are entitled to redundancy pay and support to transition into new work
Redundancy and notice periods are often overlooked in the disability sector. Make sure these are factored into your HR and financial planning.
While the SCHADS Award sets standard rules for hours, pay, and entitlements, sometimes employers and employees may want arrangements that suit their specific needs.
Individual Flexibility Agreements allow them to make these adjustments, provided the changes benefit the employee overall and are genuinely agreed upon by both parties
The Award allows employers and employees to enter into Individual Flexibility Agreements to vary certain conditions (e.g. hours, penalty rates, allowances). But:
Understanding who is covered and the types of employment under SCHADS is more than just compliance. It helps you:
In a sector where workforce shortages are a real challenge, getting these basics right can give you a big advantage.
Understanding the SCHADS Award doesn’t have to be overwhelming. For NDIS providers, it’s about getting the basics right: knowing who’s covered, classifying roles properly, and choosing the right employment type. This protects your business from legal risks and helps build a fair, transparent workplace where staff feel respected and supported. In a sector where retention matters, compliance isn’t just a legal box: it’s a strategic advantage.