Written by the Rostery team. We build rostering software for NDIS and aged-care providers in Sydney, and these are the questions we get asked most about split shifts.
If you run a small NDIS or home care business, you've probably built a roster where someone works a morning visit, has a few hours off, then does an afternoon visit. Under the SCHADS Award, that's a broken shift. The rules are clear once you've read them, but they're spread across several clauses. Here they are in one place, as the questions to ask yourself before the roster goes out.
1. Is this worker allowed a broken shift?
Only two groups can work broken shifts under the award (clause 25.6): home care employees, and social and community services employees while doing disability services work. Anyone else, don't split their day.
2. How many unpaid breaks are in the day?
One unpaid break, giving two blocks of work, is something you can roster. A meal break isn't counted.
Two unpaid breaks, giving three blocks, needs the employee to agree. That agreement has to happen before each occasion, unless the three-block pattern is part of their agreed regular pattern of work. Write the agreement down somewhere you can find it later.
3. Does the day fit inside 12 hours?
Measure from the start of the first block to the end of the last. The award caps that span at 12 hours, and Fair Work says any hours worked past 12 are paid at double time. A late extra visit can quietly push a day over.
4. Is every block paid at least 2 hours?
For part-time and casual staff doing disability or home care work, each work period in a broken shift has a 2-hour minimum payment. Fair Work's example is a 90-minute morning visit that must be paid as 2 hours, even though the afternoon visit is a full 2 hours on its own.
Watch short gaps. If a gap sits inside a minimum payment period, it's counted as time worked and isn't a "break" for broken-shift purposes (clause 25.6(c)).
5. Have you added the right allowance?
Clause 20.12 sets two allowances, with these amounts from 1 July 2026:
- One unpaid break: 1.7% of the standard rate, $21.81 per broken shift
- Two unpaid breaks: 2.25% of the standard rate, $28.87 per broken shift
Weekend, overtime and public holiday penalties still apply on top for the hours worked. The figures move every July, so check Fair Work's pay guide.
6. Is there a 10-hour gap before the next shift?
Clause 25.4 gives every employee at least 10 hours between the end of one shift and the start of the next. It can come down to 8 hours by agreement, but only for the shift before or after a sleepover shift. The sleepover itself doesn't count as a break, and work either side of it is one shift.
While you're at it, non-casual staff need at least two full days off a week, four a fortnight, or eight in 28 days (clause 25.3), consecutive where practicable.
7. Are you paying travel in the gap?
Generally, no. Fair Work says the vehicle allowance usually isn't paid for travel in the middle of a broken shift when the worker is free from duty, including getting to the next block, or for travel between home and work.
A quick example
Say a part-time worker does 7:00 to 8:30am with one participant and 3:00 to 5:00pm with another. That's one unpaid break, so you can roster it. The span is 10 hours. The morning block is paid as 2 hours, not 90 minutes, and the one-break allowance applies. If a family then asks for a 6:30pm check, the day becomes two breaks and runs past 12 hours. It's usually easier to give that visit to someone else.
Key takeaways
- Broken shifts are only for home care and disability services work.
- One break can be rostered; two breaks need agreement each time (or an agreed regular pattern).
- Keep the whole day within a 12-hour span.
- Pay each block at least 2 hours for part-time and casual staff.
- Attach the correct allowance, and leave 10 hours before the next shift.
If you want a weekly routine to go with these checks, we've also published a simple weekly rostering checklist for NDIS providers.
Prefer the longer version with worked examples and FAQs? It's on dev.to: https://dev.to/rostery/broken-shifts-under-the-schads-award-a-rostering-guide-for-ndis-providers-pfp
How Rostery helps
Rostery is our SCHADS-aware rostering and payroll software for NDIS and aged-care providers. It's a paid subscription with a free demo. Anyone can use our free NDIS tools, including a shift price calculator and a short-notice cancellation calculator.
Want to go deeper? Read SCHADS Award explained: penalties, broken shifts, sleepovers and overtime and SCHADS sleepover allowances explained.
Sources
- SCHADS Award MA000100, clauses 10.5, 20.12, 25.3, 25.4, 25.6, Fair Work Commission
- Hours of work in the SCHADS Award, Fair Work Ombudsman
- Pay and allowances in the SCHADS Award, Fair Work Ombudsman
- 1 July 2022 changes to the SCHADS Award, Fair Work Ombudsman
This is general information, not legal advice. Check the award and Fair Work's pay guide for your own situation.
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