SCHADS Award Sleepover Allowance — How It Works and What Providers Must Pay

What Is a Sleepover Shift?

A sleepover shift is one where a worker is required to sleep at or near a participant's home overnight, available to respond if needed, but not expected to be working for the full duration. The worker is provided with suitable sleeping facilities and is essentially on call.

This is different from an overnight active shift, where the worker is expected to be awake and working throughout. Active overnight shifts attract the relevant night shift penalty rates for all hours worked — the sleepover provisions do not apply.

The Sleepover Allowance

Under the SCHADS Award, a worker performing a sleepover shift is entitled to a sleepover allowance for the sleepover period. This is a flat amount paid for the entire sleepover — not an hourly rate.

What Counts as a Sleepover Period?

The sleepover period is typically defined as the hours between the worker going to sleep and when they are required to wake up and begin active work. The exact definition of start and end times for the sleepover period is set out in the SCHADS Award — review the current version of the Award for the precise clause, as these can be updated.

The hours before and after the sleepover period — when the worker is actively working — are paid at the applicable ordinary or penalty rate for the time of day and day of week.

Interruptions During a Sleepover — What Must Be Paid

If a worker is woken during a sleepover to perform work — responding to a participant, managing an incident, providing personal care — they must be paid for that time in addition to the sleepover allowance. The key rules:

• Each interruption that requires the worker to get up and perform work must be paid at the applicable rate
• There is a minimum payment per interruption — typically a minimum number of minutes regardless of how short the actual task was
• If the worker is interrupted for a cumulative period that exceeds a threshold set in the Award, additional entitlements may apply
• Interruptions must be recorded — time in and time out — to calculate the pay correctly

Recording Sleepover Shifts Correctly

Accurate sleepover payroll requires accurate records. For every sleepover shift you must capture:

• Start time of the pre-sleepover active period
• Start time of the sleepover period
• Any interruptions — exact start and end time of each
• End time of the sleepover period
• Start time of the post-sleepover active period
• End time of the shift

Without this granularity, you cannot calculate sleepover pay correctly. A shift recorded only as "7pm to 7am" gives you nothing to work with.

How Sleepover Pay Interacts with Other Entitlements

Sleepover shifts often involve hours that attract penalty rates before and after the sleepover period:

• Evening hours worked before the sleepover period begins may attract the afternoon or night shift loading
• Morning hours after the sleepover period ends may be ordinary time or attract early morning penalty rates depending on the time
• If the shift falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday, the pre- and post-sleepover hours are paid at the relevant day penalty rate

The sleepover allowance itself is paid at the flat rate regardless of day — it does not increase on weekends or public holidays unless the Award specifies otherwise. Always verify this in the current Award.

Common Mistakes Providers Make with Sleepover Pay

• Paying only the allowance and ignoring interruptions. Every time a worker gets up during the night, that time must be paid separately.
• Not recording interruptions. If workers don't log interruption times, you have no record for payroll or audit purposes.
• Treating an active overnight shift as a sleepover. If the worker is expected to be awake throughout, it is an active shift and must be paid at the applicable overnight rate for all hours — not at the sleepover allowance rate.
• Using last year's allowance rate after 1 July. The allowance increases each year. Always update your payroll system on 1 July.