Rostering Rules & Regulations
The SCHADS Award sets strict rules on how rosters must be displayed, changed and reconciled against actual work. The combination of vulnerable participants, complex shift patterns and growing NDIS scrutiny means rostering errors quickly turn into compliance findings.
Quick Facts
- Display Roster
- 2 weeks in advance
- Change Notice
- 7 days notice (unless emergency)
- Client Cancellation Threshold
- 12 hours before rostered start (cl.25.5(f))
- Make-up Time Window
- Within 6 weeks of cancelled service
Tools & Resources
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SCHADS AI Assistant
Get instant answers to award questions.
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Timesheet Validator
Check timesheets for compliance.
Changing the Roster
Employers must generally give **7 days notice** to change a rostered shift. The exception is a genuine emergency or a client cancellation handled under the specific rules below. Major changes also require consultation with affected staff. Without notice and consultation, a unilateral roster change is itself a contravention — not just a courtesy issue.
Client Cancellations (cl.25.5(f))
Clause 25.5(f) governs what happens when a participant cancels. It applies to **full-time and part-time employees only** — casuals are excluded.
**< 12 hours notice:** the employer must pay the employee the amount they would have received had the shift been worked. The shift cannot simply be cancelled to $0.
**≥ 12 hours notice:** the employer may give make-up time provided three conditions are met: (a) the employee gets at least 7 days' notice of the make-up shift (or shorter by agreement), (b) the make-up shift is worked within **6 weeks** of the cancelled service, and (c) if the make-up shift attracts a different pay rate, the employee receives the higher of the two rates.
**< 12 hours notice:** the employer must pay the employee the amount they would have received had the shift been worked. The shift cannot simply be cancelled to $0.
**≥ 12 hours notice:** the employer may give make-up time provided three conditions are met: (a) the employee gets at least 7 days' notice of the make-up shift (or shorter by agreement), (b) the make-up shift is worked within **6 weeks** of the cancelled service, and (c) if the make-up shift attracts a different pay rate, the employee receives the higher of the two rates.
Roster-to-claim reconciliation
Under the 2026 NDIS integrity push, "timesheets that do not match the claim" is the single fastest way to fail a Quality and Safeguards Commission or NDIA audit. Shift start and end times in the roster, the timesheet, and the NDIS claim need to reconcile. If a cancellation was paid to the worker but never charged to the participant's plan (or vice versa), the gap will be picked up by the Fraud Fusion Taskforce's pattern-detection work.
This is why rostering, payroll and claims need to live in a single audit trail rather than three disconnected systems.
This is why rostering, payroll and claims need to live in a single audit trail rather than three disconnected systems.
SIL registration from 1 July 2026
From **1 July 2026**, every Supported Independent Living provider must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission — including providers who have previously delivered SIL to self-managed or plan-managed participants without registration. Online platform providers fall in scope too.
Registration brings audit obligations that look closely at rostering: how shifts are assigned, whether the worker who delivered the support was supervised and quality-checked, and whether the claim narrative matches the rostered service. Providers running on spreadsheets at registration time will struggle to produce the records auditors expect.
Registration brings audit obligations that look closely at rostering: how shifts are assigned, whether the worker who delivered the support was supervised and quality-checked, and whether the claim narrative matches the rostered service. Providers running on spreadsheets at registration time will struggle to produce the records auditors expect.
Common rostering errors
Recurring mistakes in audits: cancelling a part-time worker's shift to $0 inside the 12-hour window with no make-up time recorded; offering "make-up time" that drifts beyond the 6-week limit; applying client-cancellation rules to casuals (cl.25.5(f) does not apply to them); and failing to keep the cancellation notice timestamp, which means the employer cannot prove whether the cancellation was inside or outside the 12-hour threshold. Where notice is undetermined, the conservative position is to pay the shift in full.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can my employer change my shift today?
- Only by mutual agreement or in a genuine emergency (e.g. another staff member is sick and cover is needed). Otherwise the 7-day notice rule applies.
- What happens if a client cancels less than 12 hours before my shift?
- Under clause 25.5(f), full-time and part-time employees must be paid the amount they would have earned working the shift. The employer cannot simply zero out the shift.
- How long does the employer have to give me make-up time?
- Make-up time must be worked within 6 weeks of the cancelled service. You must also receive at least 7 days' notice of the make-up shift (shorter by agreement), and if the make-up shift pays a different rate, you get the higher of the two.
- Does the client-cancellation rule apply to casuals?
- No. Clause 25.5(f) applies to full-time and part-time employees only. Casual entitlements are governed by minimum engagement instead — if the casual reports for duty, the minimum engagement applies.
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