Sleepover shifts

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Key points

  • A sleepover shift is when a worker is required to sleep overnight at a participant’s home. The span for a sleepover is a continuous period of 8 hours.

  • The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (PAPL) on the NDIS website provide for up to 2 hours of active NDIS supports a worker can provide to a participant within the 8-hour sleepover shift.

  • The Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services (SCHADS) Award determines the amount a worker is to be paid for a sleepover period and the amount they are to be paid if they are required to perform work during the sleepover. The SCHADS Award also determines how long the work periods before and after the sleepover period need to be, and the amount a worker is to be paid for those work periods.

  • The sleepover and any hours worked before and after the sleepover are counted as one continuous shift.

  • Sleepover shifts are different from active overnight supports, which is where workers are awake during normal sleeping hours to provide supports to a participant due to their disability.

  • NDIS providers and NDIS participants engaging their own workers have a duty to ensure a safe working environment for workers, as far as is reasonably practicable, during a sleepover shift.

This information is also available in a downloadable format – Worker alert: Sleepover shifts.

About sleepover shifts

A sleepover shift is when a worker is required to sleep overnight at a participant’s residence and provide them with up to 2 hours of active NDIS supports during the night when required. The span for a sleepover is a continuous period of 8 hours. Residence can include a group home or a private home.

The Fair Work Ombudsman provides guidance about the SCHADS Award on its website. The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (PAPL) help providers and participants understand NDIS pricing for this support.

The Fair Work Commission has made changes to sleepovers in the SCHADS Award. These changes took effect from a worker’s first full pay period starting on or after 1 June 2026 and cover:

For current information about sleepovers in the SCHADS Award, read Hours of work in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award. For information about sleepovers in the SCHADS Award before 1 June 2026, read Sleepovers in the SCHADS Award.

Under the PAPL, sleepover shifts are referred to as Night-Time Sleepover Supports. This is any support delivered to a participant: 

  • on a weekday, a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday 
  • that starts before midnight and finishes after midnight
  • for a continuous period of 8 hours or more. 

Workers can sleep during the 8-hour sleepover shift. NDIS pricing arrangements provide up to 2 hours of active supports to the participant when needed (for example, going to the bathroom). 

Sleepover shifts should not be confused with active overnight supports, which are funded for participants who require more than 2 hours of support overnight.

In addition, a sleepover is different to a 24-hour care shift or an excursion under the SCHADS Award.

Guide to providing Supported Independent Living (SIL) on the NDIS website.
 

Disruptions during a sleepover shift

If a participant’s needs change and workers are routinely required to be awake for more than 2 hours a night, they and their provider should contact the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and talk about whether there is a need to change the amount of supported independent living in their plan.

If workers have concerns around their workplace rights and obligations, they can also contact the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) who offer free information and advice on pay, conditions, and workplace rights and obligations. 

It is also important to monitor sleeping patterns of participants. If participants are waking up regularly during the night or experiencing unexpected changes in their sleeping patterns, the provider must work with professionals such as an occupational therapist for review and conversion to active night supports. 

Where a participant has behaviour support needs during a sleepover shift, workers should be responsive to such needs and implement person-centred, evidence-informed strategies as outlined in their behaviour support plan. Where a participant does not have a behaviour support plan, the provider should take steps to: 

  • minimise any identified risk of harm
  • document the changes in behaviour, and 
  • work with the participant’s support team to find ways to best support the person.

Where a participant doesn't have a behaviour support plan, the provider should:

  • take steps to minimise any identified risk of harm

  • document the changes in behaviour 

  • work with the participant’s support team to find ways to best support the person.

This may involve supporting the participant to have a health check and/or engaging a specialist behaviour support provider to undertake a behaviour support assessment and develop a Behaviour Support plan. Information for providers and workers to assist with supporting good sleep can be found at the end of this resource. 

Learn more about the Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework.

Obligations under NDIS legislation

  • Quality and safety obligations are set out in the NDIS Code of Conduct (the Code), and the NDIS Practice Standards. The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission) has developed guidelines to assist workers to understand the code: NDIS Code of Conduct for workers.

  • The Code promotes safe and ethical service delivery by setting out expectations for provider and worker conduct.

  • For sleepover shifts in NDIS settings, providers and workers must follow all requirements of the Code, including:

    • Providing supports and services in a safe and competent manner with care and skill. This includes complying with work health and safety laws. 

    • Promptly taking steps to raise and act on concerns about matters that might have an impact on the quality and safety of supports provided to people with disability.

    • Taking all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to all forms of violence, exploitation, neglect and abuse of people with disability.

  • The NDIS Practice Standards specify the quality standards that registered providers need to meet when supporting NDIS participants. 

  • The Practice Standards state that registered providers need to identify and manage risks to participants and workers. This includes work health and safety (WHS) risks. 

  • A risk management system is an important tool providers use to manage the risks they have identified. The system should be relevant and proportionate to the:

    •  size and scale of the provider 

    • scope and complexity of the provider's supports or services.

WHS obligations for NDIS providers 

NDIS providers who directly engage their workers are considered a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) under Safe Work Australia’s harmonised model WHS laws. These laws directly inform Commonwealth and State and Territory WHS laws. The term PCBU is not used in Victoria, however there are similar duties and responsibilities under the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.

  • A PCBU has a primary duty to ensure the health and safety of workers while they are at work and others who may be affected by the carrying out of work. 

  • NDIS providers have a duty to ensure a safe working environment for workers during a sleepover shift, as far as is reasonably practicable. 

For a sleepover shift, providers must ensure workers have safe working conditions, including an appropriate place to sleep during the shift. Clause 25.7(c) of the SCHADS Award states that employees will be provided with: 

  • a separate room with a bed and clean linen
  • the use of appropriate facilities like food preparation areas and staff facilities (where these exist)
  • free board and lodging for each night when the worker sleeps over.

Providers must also have strategies in place to manage fatigue. Safe Work Australia defines fatigue as mental and/or physical exhaustion that reduces the ability to perform work safely and effectively. The risk of fatigue must also be considered for workers who may have multiple work engagements.

WHS requirements in NDIS legislation

Under the NDIS Code of Conduct, employers such as NDIS providers, are required to provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and free of risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable.

The Code of Conduct requires NDIS providers to provide and maintain a safe working environment, and to deliver services in a safe and competent manner. If a provider doesn’t properly manage fatigue, it poses a risk to the safety of both workers and participants and could breach this section of the Code of Conduct.

The NDIS Practice Standards specify the quality standards that registered NDIS providers need to meet to maintain their registration. The standards apply to providers that support NDIS participants during sleepover shifts. Examples of Practice Standards that support worker safety include: 

  • Risk management, including identification and management of WHS risks

  • Strategic and business planning requirements that consider worker needs

  • Worker access to participant information and support plans

  • Worker supervision, training, qualifications and competence

  • Consultation with workers in relation to incident management processes and 

  • Provider obligations to keep records of worker’s secondary employment.

WHS obligations for workers

Providers are primarily responsible for a worker’s health and safety, but workers also need to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and make sure they do not affect the health or safety of others. This includes managing fatigue during a sleepover shift. 

SafeWork Australia offer a list of strategies to help manage fatigue for workers, including:

  • Complying with organisational policies and procedures relating to fatigue.

  • Understanding sleep, rest and recovery needs and getting enough rest and sleep away from work.

  • Seeking medical advice and assistance if concerned about a health condition that affects sleep or causes fatigue.

  • Self-assessment of fitness before commencing work.

  • Talking to a supervisor or manager if it's likely that fatigue could create a health and safety risk.

  • Looking out for signs of fatigue in others.

  • Working with supervisors to manage fatigue by:

    • taking a break

    • maintaining hydration (drinking water)

    • undertaking physical exercise

    • talking to a supervisor if experiencing fatigue.

  • Using suitable commuting and accommodation options, such as avoiding driving if fatigued.

Workers rostered for a sleepover shift can expect to sleep during the shift and resume duty fully rested. The worker can expect their provider to provide an environment conducive to sleeping that will be established and monitored by way of an agreed standard. 

WHS obligations for NDIS participants engaging their own workers

NDIS participants who engage their own workers may also be considered a PCBU under their relevant state or territory WHS laws, and have a duty to provide a safe working environment. According to SafeWork Australia, a PCBU needs to (as far as reasonably practicable):  

  • provide and maintain a safe work environment

  • provide and maintain safe systems of work

  • provide accessible and adequate facilities (for example, access to a sleeping area)

  • provide instruction, training, information, and supervision.

  • monitor workers' health and conditions at the workplace

  • maintain any accommodation owned or under their management and control to ensure the health and safety of workers using the accommodation. 

To assist with maintaining a safe home environment for a sleepover shift, a risk assessment can be used to identify and control common health and safety risks, including fatigue.  Example checklists from SafeWork NSW can be found at the end of this resource.

Case study – Bea from Boorloo, Western Australia

Bea is a young worker for a large disability provider (AABBCC Homes) in Boorloo (Perth). She loves working with participants and assisting with daily activities in group homes. Other AABBCC Homes staff worked with Bea to look at her bedroom set-up in the home where she works, and what a good night’s sleep looks like for her. The staff also checked the quality of the mattress, ensured the linens were clean and that the staff bedroom door has a lock so that Bea can sleep with the door locked if needed. 

The 3 residents of the home were also informed about the conditions of the sleepover shift. However, the residents began making sure they used the 2 hours of active NDIS supports each sleepover shift to maximise their time with Bea.

AABBCC Homes management dealt with this by explaining to the residents that a sleepover shift means that Bea is available to assist during the night, but the expectation is that she will be sleeping during this time. For this reason, it is not appropriate to schedule the washing and drying of their laundry from 10pm to midnight, for example. However, Bea does set an alarm so that she can assist with delivering medication at a set time that night. Bea also frequently gets up during the night to assist one of the residents to use the bathroom and to return to bed. 

The management team explains that if Bea is consistently required to work on a sleepover, and is not getting enough sleep, they will work with the participants and the NDIA to discuss alternatives. This might be active night supports, or other changes to better support participants during the night. 

Setting expectations appropriately for the sleepover shift helps Bea get enough sleep to meet the requirements of her day shift and the needs of the participants.
 

Resources

Worker alert: Sleepover shifts

pdf 218KB Listen to PDF

 

NDIS Commission

  • Worker training modules and resources support NDIS workers to understand their obligations under the NDIS Code of Conduct and to better support people with disability. These resources include the following interactive e-learning modules:

    • Worker Orientation Module – 'Quality, Safety and You'

    • New Worker NDIS Induction Module

    • Supporting Effective Communication

    • Supporting safe and enjoyable meals.

  • NDIS Code of Conduct including The NDIS Code of Conduct for workers and the NDIS Code of Conduct for providers guidelines.

  • Violence against workers Resources to assist providers and workers support worker safety and wellbeing.

  • The complaints process Outlines the process for making and following up a complaint to the NDIS Commission.

  • Complaints about you Guidelines about effective complaint handling for all NDIS providers – registered or unregistered – to provide information about key principles and good practices for effective complaints management.

  • Incident management Provide information on the benefits of effective incident management, reportable incident obligations and timeframes, and incident management system requirements.

  • Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework provides guidance to providers and behaviour support practitioners on the Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework (the Framework), which focuses on the knowledge and skills that underpin contemporary evidence-based practice in positive behaviour support.

  • Policy Guidance: Working within your knowledge, skills, and experience Outlines the NDIS Commissioner’s expectations of NDIS providers, NDIS behaviour support practitioners, and all NDIS workers to work within their knowledge, skills, and experience; and to engage in continuing professional development.

Fair Work Ombudsman

NDIA

Resources on sleep support

Commonwealth, State and Territory WHS agencies 

SafeWork Australia

SafeWork NSW

WorkSafe Victoria

SafeWork SA

  • Primary duty of care Outlines the primary duty of care of the PCBU, as well as employer and worker WHS responsibilities.

WorkSafe Qld

WorkSafe Tasmania

WorkSafe WA

  • Fatigue Provides information on the characteristics of fatigue for workers.

  • Risk Management Code of Practice A tool for considering potential occupational safety and health hazard factors and risks from workplace/industry working hours arrangement.

  • PCBU Designed to help WA organisations and their associated workforces (including volunteers) understand WA’s WHS laws. Short video animations have been developed for use at workplace or toolbox meetings explaining what a PCBU.

WorkSafe ACT

NT WorkSafe

  • PCBU duties Identifies the primary duty of PCBUs to ensure workers and other people in your workplace are not exposed to psychosocial hazards and risks.

References

Fair Work Ombudsman. n.d. a. Sleepovers in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award 

Fair Work Ombudsman. n.d. b. Pay for sleepovers in the Social, Community, Home Care & Disability Services Award

National Disability Insurance Agency. (2022).  Supported Independent Living Guideline, p. 12.

National Disability Insurance Agency. (2023). Guide to using the provider SIL roster of care tool, p. 11.

National Disability Insurance Agency. (2024) a. Supported Independent Living Roster of care submissions

National Disability Insurance Agency. (2024) b. Directly engaging your own staff, pp. 6-7.

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (2019). Positive behaviour support capability framework: 

For NDIS providers and behaviour support practitioners, p. 24.

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. (2023). a. Making a complaint

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. (2023). b. Feedback and Complaints Policy, p. 4.

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. (2024) a. Pricing arrangements and price limits 2024-2025, p. 17, pp. 39-40.

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. (2024) b. NDIS Code of Conduct

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (2024) c. NDIS Practice Standards and Quality indicators, pp. 7-11.

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (2024) d. Policy Guidance: Working within your knowledge, 

skills, and experience, p. 1.

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (2024) e. The complaints process

SafeWork Australia. n.d.a. Glossary

SafeWork Australia. n.d.b Fatigue

SafeWork Australia. n.d.c. WHS duties

SafeWork Australia. (2013). Fatigue-management-a-workers-guide, p. 2.

Safe Work Australia. (2020). Model WHS Act cross-comparison table

SafeWork NSW. n.d. a. Home Safety Risk Assessment

SafeWork NSW. n.d. b. Disability support

SafeWork NSW. n.d. c. Work health and safety guidance for NDIS participants

WorkSafe Victoria. (2022). Occupational health and safety - your legal duties

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