Paying sleepovers right under SCHADS in 2026: the allowance, the call-outs and the 2026 changes

From the Rostery team. We build SCHADS-aware rostering and payroll software for NDIS and aged-care providers in Sydney. This is a rewritten, shorter version of our sleepover guide.

Sleepovers are one of the easiest SCHADS entitlements to get wrong, and one of the most expensive when you do. The allowance itself is simple. The trouble starts when a worker gets woken up, or when the sleepover sits between two periods of work. Here's how it works in 2026.

What counts as a sleepover

Under clause 25.7 of the SCHADS Award, a sleepover is when you require a worker to sleep overnight at the workplace or a participant's home, so they're available if needed. The key point is that they're allowed to sleep.

You also have to provide the right conditions: a separate room with a bed and clean linen, access to bathroom and food-preparation facilities, and free board and lodging for the night. The sleepover span is a continuous period of about 8 hours. Without the proper facilities, the arrangement may not count as a sleepover at all.

The 2026 allowance

The sleepover allowance is 4.9% of the standard rate, which is about $62.87 a night from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. The percentage hasn't changed. The dollar amount rose with the Annual Wage Review.

Two things to remember:

• It's flat, not hourly. The allowance pays for being there and available overnight.
• It doesn't cover call-outs. Work during the night is paid separately.

The allowance counts as ordinary time earnings, so super applies, and it goes into gross wages for tax and Single Touch Payroll.

Paying for time awake

Clause 25.7(e) says that if a worker on a sleepover has to work, that time is paid at the overtime rate, with a minimum payment as for one hour.

Here's how a single weeknight might look:

1. The worker is rostered for a sleepover: pay the $62.87 allowance.
2. They're woken at 2:00am and work for 20 minutes: pay at least one hour at the overtime rate.
3. They're woken again at 4:30am and work for 90 minutes: pay 1.5 hours at the overtime rate.
4. Rostered work before or after the sleepover: at least one of those periods must be paid for a minimum of four hours.

Weekend and public holiday penalties still apply to the work done. A Sunday sleepover doesn't turn Sunday work into weekday work.

What changed in 2026

The 2026 SCHADS changes didn't touch the allowance amount, but they changed how a sleepover fits with the work around it.

• A sleepover isn't a break between shifts. Under the amended clause 25.4, work immediately before and after a sleepover forms one shift with the sleepover, rather than being separated by the 10-hour rest rule.
• Longer shifts by agreement. Part-time and casual staff can work up to 12 hours in a shift that includes a sleepover without automatically getting overtime, where the right agreement is in place.
• Penalties are still assessed per period. The work before and after is checked for shift and weekend penalties on its own.

So: one shift for overtime and span, but separate penalty checks for each period of work.

Pay and claiming are different

What you pay the worker under SCHADS isn't what you claim from the NDIS. For SIL, an NDIS sleepover covers up to 2 hours of awake support and is priced per night. Our roster of care guide explains how that overnight decision is made.

Common mistakes

• Treating the allowance as covering call-outs.
• Calling an active overnight shift a "sleepover". If the worker is awake and working, it's a shift.
• Skipping the room, bed and linen requirements.
• Leaving weekend or public holiday penalties off the work done.
• Using last year's allowance figure.

Key takeaways

• The 2026 allowance is about $62.87 a night (4.9% of the standard rate).
• Every call-out is paid at overtime, with a one-hour minimum.
• At least one active period next to the sleepover needs four hours.
• A sleepover is no longer a break between shifts.
• Check the figure against the Fair Work pay guide every 1 July.

Read the full guide on Rostery

Our full article, SCHADS sleepover allowances explained, with 2026 rates, has a compliance checklist and FAQs. If you're deciding between a sleepover and an active overnight for a SIL house, the free "Sleepover or Active Night?" tool is in our free NDIS tools.

For how sleepovers fit into the wider award, see SCHADS penalties, broken shifts and sleepovers explained. And if you're choosing software to handle this, we've written about choosing NDIS rostering software.

General information only. Confirm current figures with the Fair Work Ombudsman.