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What is Active and passive overnight?

Active overnight support means a worker is awake and working through the night and is paid hourly at the applicable rate. Passive overnight, or a sleepover, means the worker is present and available but permitted to sleep, and is paid an allowance. Which applies depends on the participant’s assessed overnight support needs.

The distinction drives both the roster and the claim. A participant needing frequent overnight assistance requires active support, which is materially more expensive to deliver and is funded accordingly.

Where a participant’s needs change, the overnight arrangement should be reassessed. Continuing to staff a house passively when the participant now needs active support is both a funding problem and a safety one.

Related terms

SleepoverA 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.SCHADS AwardThe SCHADS Award is the modern award covering most Australian disability and community services employees. It sets minimum pay rates by classification level, and the rules for penalties, overtime, broken shifts, sleepovers, on-call, travel reimbursement and minimum engagement periods. Compliance is a legal obligation, not a payroll preference.SILSIL is NDIS funding for the support a participant needs to live in a shared or individual home — help with daily tasks, personal care and overnight assistance. It pays for the support workers, not the housing itself. SIL is quoted per participant based on an agreed roster of care for the household.

More in Payroll & award

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SCHADS interpretation, NDIS price-guide validation, claiming and the evidence an audit asks for — built for Australian providers.

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