SCHADS Award Levels & Classifications Explained

The SCHADS Award (the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award, MA000100) classifies employees into levels that determine their minimum pay. There is no single ladder shared by every role — the descriptors that define each level live in the award's Schedules, and each Schedule covers a different type of work:

• Schedule B — Social and Community Services (SACS): Levels 1 to 8. This is the stream most NDIS and community disability support workers sit in.
• Schedule E — Home Care Employees (Disability Care): Levels 1 to 5. Disability support delivered in a client's home.
• Schedule F — Home Care Employees (Aged Care): a separate aged-care home-care stream introduced from 1 January 2025.
• Schedule C — Crisis Accommodation: staff in crisis and supported accommodation services.
• Schedule D — Family Day Care.

Important: although the award title includes "Disability Services", there is no standalone "Disability Services" classification stream. Disability support work is classified under Schedule E (home care - disability) where it is delivered in a client's home, or under Schedule B (SACS) where the work is community or social in nature. Confirming the right Schedule is the first step, because a "Level 3" in one Schedule is a different classification — with a different rate — to a "Level 3" in another.

Use this table to find the right Schedule and level range for a role, then read the level descriptors in that Schedule of the award. The stream is driven by the type of service, not the worker.

The SACS level count (1-8) is well established. The Crisis Accommodation level count is not confirmed against the official award text here — check Schedule C directly before relying on a specific number.

The SACS stream is where most disability support workers, youth workers and community services staff are classified. Each level describes a band of responsibility, autonomy and required skill — the descriptors are in Schedule B of the award:

• SCHADS Level 1 — Entry level. Routine tasks under close or direct supervision; no formal qualification required.
• SCHADS Level 2 — The standard support worker level. Work needing some experience or a relevant qualification (such as a Certificate III), performed under general rather than close supervision. Most disability support workers start here.
• SCHADS Level 3 — More complex or specialised work, typically a Certificate IV or Diploma or significant hands-on experience. The worker exercises independent judgment and may guide less experienced staff.
• SCHADS Level 4 — Coordination, team leadership or complex casework. Supervises staff, manages a caseload, or runs a defined program area.
• SCHADS Level 5 — Program coordination or specialist roles carrying responsibility for a program, function or team, usually requiring a relevant qualification and substantial experience.
• SCHADS Levels 6 to 8 — Senior professional and management roles responsible for budgets, programs or whole services. Level 8 is the most senior band in the stream.

The higher the level, the more the role is defined by responsibility and independent judgment rather than direct client-support hours. For stream-specific dollar figures, see our disability support worker pay rates guide.

The Home Care stream covers personal care and support delivered in a client's home. From 1 January 2025 it was split into two separate streams — Schedule E (Disability Care) and Schedule F (Aged Care) — so disability home-care rates and aged-care home-care rates are no longer identical. Aged-care home-care rates also received a separate increase from around 1 October 2025 under the Aged Care Work Value Case. The Disability Care stream (Schedule E) runs Levels 1 to 5:

• Level 1 — Domestic assistance and basic home help.
• Level 2 — Personal care with some training, working to an established care plan.
• Level 3 — A qualified personal care worker (typically Certificate III); widely treated as the standard classification for experienced in-home care staff.
• Level 4 — Senior or coordinating roles, often supervising other care workers or scheduling care.
• Level 5 — Specialist or supervisory roles with broader responsibility for service delivery.

If you deliver disability support in a community or supported-accommodation setting rather than a private home, you are more likely to fall under the SACS stream (Schedule B). For aged and home care dollar figures, see our home care worker pay rates guide.

Within most levels there are several pay points — written as a decimal after the level number, such as Level 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3. A pay point is an incremental step inside a level: the same classification at a slightly higher rate.

An employee becomes eligible to progress to the next pay point within their level after each 12 months of continuous employment at that point, subject to demonstrating competency at the required standard and satisfactory performance. (The progression rule is well established; the exact clause number is not asserted here — confirm it against the current award text.)

Pay point progression is not a promotion. Moving from Level 2.1 to 2.2 is a routine increment; moving from Level 2 to Level 3 is a reclassification driven by a genuine change in duties. Minimum wages for each level and pay point are set in the award's minimum wages clause and indexed annually.

The figures below are the rates effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026 (flowing from the 2026 Annual Wage Review, a 4.75% increase to award rates). Casual figures include the 25% casual loading on the ordinary hourly rate.

All figures are from the Fair Work Ombudsman Pay Guide for MA000100 effective 1 July 2026. SCHADS rates are indexed every 1 July, so confirm the current figure before treating any rate as live — every pay point with weekend and shift rates is in our SCHADS pay rates calculator.

Many providers want a single, printable SCHADS levels table to keep on file for classification reviews and HR audits. A useful one-page reference captures, for each stream:

• the Schedule (B / C / D / E / F) and the level range it covers;
• a one-line descriptor for each level (entry / standard support / complex / coordination / management);
• the pay points within each level and the 12-month progression rule;
• the indicative hourly rate per level and pay point, dated to the effective pay period;
• a column for your own enterprise agreement rates where one applies.

You can build this from the tables on this page and the official award. Treat any downloadable PDF — including ours — as a starting point only: rates change every 1 July, so always reconcile the dollar figures against the current Fair Work pay guide before using them for payroll. If you want each worker's actual pay checked against the rate for their classification automatically, that is exactly what CrossVault's Job Classifier and Timesheet Validator do.

Classification is based on the work you actually perform, measured against the level descriptors in the relevant Schedule — not on what your contract or position title says. If your day-to-day duties match a higher-level descriptor (for example, you routinely supervise others, coordinate a program or carry complex casework), the higher level applies regardless of the label on the role. This cuts both ways: a worker doing genuine Level 3 work while paid at Level 2 is being underpaid, while a senior-sounding title does not by itself justify a higher level if the duties do not match. When duties and descriptors disagree, the duties win.

The most expensive payroll error in the sector is the wrong classification level. Because every penalty rate, overtime hour and allowance is calculated off the base rate for the level, a single misclassification quietly underpays a worker on every hour — and it compounds over years. Fair Work can audit up to seven years of records, so a classification error affecting a handful of workers can produce a six-figure back-pay bill before penalties. CrossVault's Timesheet Validator checks pay against the rate for each worker's classification, so under- and over-payments surface before they accumulate.

If you've just worked out your level from the descriptors above, the next question is whether your payslip matches it. Upload a payslip to our free payslip check — it compares your rate against the current minimum for each classification and tells you which level your pay actually corresponds to, along with every other rate and allowance on the slip. If the numbers come back low, here's how to raise it.