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.

Related terms

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.Active and passive overnightActive 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.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.Roster of careA roster of care is the modelled weekly staffing pattern for a Supported Independent Living household, used to quote each participant’s SIL funding. It sets out the shifts required, their times and ratios, and how overnight support is provided, and forms the basis of the amount the NDIA approves.

More in Payroll & award

Broken shift Casual loading Minimum engagement Contractor vs employee

Rostery handles this in practice

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

Book a demo See the features