Software Comparison
ShiftCare vs CareMaster: what NDIS providers should know
If you are comparing ShiftCare and CareMaster for your NDIS organisation, this page gives you a plain-English breakdown of how each platform is built, where each is strong, and which profile each is designed for. We have tried to be accurate about both.
ShiftCare and CareMaster are both Australian-built platforms used by NDIS providers. They sit in different parts of the market. ShiftCare is built primarily for NDIS and home care, with billing depth as its primary differentiator. CareMaster covers a broader vertical span — NDIS, aged care, and home care in a single system — which suits providers whose operation crosses those boundaries.
For pure-play NDIS disability support providers who find ShiftCare’s per-user pricing expensive as they grow, or who want SCHADS calculated at the rostering layer rather than reconciled after the fact, there is a third option worth considering. We cover that at the end of this page.
Feature comparison
The rows below cover the dimensions that operations managers and care coordinators weight most when evaluating NDIS provider software. Having a feature and having depth in a feature are different things; the notes explain where the differences lie.
| Feature | ShiftCare | CareMaster |
|---|---|---|
| NDIS billing | ShiftCare's strongest suit. Covers plan-managed, self-managed, and NDIA-managed invoicing including PACE integration and bulk upload. Xero and MYOB integrations are mature. The billing module is what most providers cite first when recommending ShiftCare. | NDIS billing is included and functional. CareMaster covers the common invoicing scenarios across NDIS, aged care, and home care in a single billing layer. Providers with very high claim volumes or complex PACE workflows may find ShiftCare's billing module more purpose-built for that specific workload. |
| NDIS rostering | Solid rostering designed around NDIS shift-based delivery. Shift offer and bid works well for filling casual gaps. The core workflow is reliable; some coordinators flag friction when making ad-hoc changes to confirmed shifts or handling same-day reassignments. | Rostering that spans NDIS, aged care, and home care in one system. Useful for providers whose workforce crosses care types. The multi-vertical design means NDIS-specific rostering logic — Worker Screening enforcement, support ratios — is present but shares priority with other care contexts. |
| Mobile carer app | A mature app with good adoption rates. Carers can view shifts, confirm availability, check in and out, and submit basic notes. ShiftCare's app has been in market long enough that most carers who use it are comfortable with it. | Mobile app included covering shift access, check-in and out, and visit notes. Designed to serve carers across care types rather than being NDIS-specific in its field workflows. |
| SCHADS compliance | Penalty rate support is included. Coordinators who have moved between platforms have flagged some SCHADS edge cases — casual public holiday rates, broken shift allowances, sleepover disturbance pay — as areas requiring manual verification on some plan configurations. | SCHADS support is included for workforce award compliance. CareMaster serves multiple award contexts across disability, aged care, and home care. Accuracy on NDIS-specific SCHADS edge cases is worth verifying against your specific pay conditions before committing. |
| Pricing model | $8–$25 per user per month depending on the plan tier. Accessible for small providers; cost scales directly with headcount. SMS notifications are charged separately at $0.10 per message. At 50+ staff the per-user cost becomes a meaningful line item. | Approximately $9 per user per month. Pricing is relatively flat across the platform's care verticals, which can represent good value for providers managing multiple care types in a single subscription. Verify current pricing with the vendor. |
| Care verticals | NDIS disability support and home care are the primary verticals. The platform is designed around those contexts. Providers whose operation is exclusively or primarily NDIS will find ShiftCare's focus matches their needs. | NDIS, aged care, and home care in one platform. The multi-vertical coverage is CareMaster's distinguishing characteristic. For providers running different care types under one organisation, a single system for all of them has real operational value. |
| Best suited to | NDIS providers where billing complexity is the primary pain point. Organisations that need PACE integration, mature Xero or MYOB connectivity, and a platform with strong market penetration in the NDIS sector. | Providers operating across NDIS, aged care, and home care who want one system for all care types. The multi-vertical fit is most valuable when your workforce and client base genuinely crosses those boundaries. |
Information based on publicly available product documentation and provider feedback as of June 2026. Features change; verify directly with each vendor.
Where ShiftCare is strong
ShiftCare is the market leader among Australian NDIS providers for good reasons. These are the areas where it genuinely leads.
NDIS billing depth and PACE integration
ShiftCare’s NDIS billing module is its strongest differentiator. Plan-managed, self-managed, and NDIA-managed invoicing are all covered. PACE integration for bulk claim submission, Xero and MYOB connectivity, and a billing workflow refined over years of use with Australian NDIS providers make this the area where ShiftCare is hardest to match.
Market penetration and provider familiarity
ShiftCare is used by a large share of Australian NDIS providers. Coordinators who have worked at multiple organisations often already know the platform. That familiarity reduces onboarding friction and means more of your staff are likely to have prior ShiftCare experience when you hire.
Mature carer app with established adoption
ShiftCare’s mobile app has been in the hands of Australian support workers for long enough that the rough edges have been smoothed out. Shift confirmation, availability management, check-in and out, and basic notes work reliably. Adoption tends to be straightforward because the app does not try to do more than carers need it to do in the field.
Purpose-built for NDIS and home care
ShiftCare’s product decisions are made with NDIS and home care providers as the primary audience. The funding model assumptions, the terminology, and the workflow defaults reflect how Australian NDIS organisations actually operate rather than being adapted from another care context.
Where CareMaster is strong
CareMaster’s distinguishing characteristic is breadth. These are the scenarios where it is the more natural fit.
One system for NDIS, aged care, and home care
For providers running multiple care types, CareMaster’s multi-vertical coverage removes the need for separate systems. A single client record, a single workforce register, and a single billing layer across NDIS, residential aged care, and home care services means less duplication and fewer integrations to maintain. This is the scenario CareMaster is most clearly designed for.
Competitive per-user pricing across verticals
At approximately $9 per user per month, CareMaster’s pricing is competitive, particularly for providers who would otherwise need separate platform subscriptions for different care types. Paying one platform fee for NDIS and aged care operations running on the same workforce is a real cost efficiency.
Aged care compliance coverage
For providers with aged care obligations — Aged Care Quality Standards, Support at Home Act compliance, SIRS reporting — CareMaster covers these alongside NDIS requirements in a way that NDIS-specific platforms do not. Organisations transitioning into the reformed aged care system alongside their NDIS operation will find CareMaster more relevant than most alternatives.
Where each platform has limitations
No platform is right for every provider. These are the limitations that come up consistently in provider evaluations of each platform.
ShiftCare limitations
- –Per-user pricing escalates with headcount. At 50 or more staff on a mid-tier plan, the cost becomes a significant line item compared to flat-rate alternatives.
- –SMS charged at $0.10 per message on top of subscription fees. High-volume messaging operations will notice this.
- –Some SCHADS edge cases — broken shift allowances, casual public holiday rates, sleepover disturbance pay — have been flagged by coordinators as requiring manual verification on certain plan configurations.
- –Participant records are functional but rostering-first in design. Providers who need structured care plan management, goal tracking, or support history depth alongside scheduling will find the records layer limited.
- –No aged care or multi-vertical coverage. Providers who also run aged care services need a separate system.
CareMaster limitations
- –NDIS billing capability is real but not as deep as ShiftCare for high-volume claim management or complex PACE workflows. Verify the NDIS billing module specifically if this is your primary pain.
- –Multi-vertical design means NDIS-specific depth — Worker Screening enforcement at rostering, NDIS support ratio logic — shares priority with other care contexts.
- –Not purpose-built for NDIS disability support in the way ShiftCare is. The product assumptions reflect a broader care context, which matters when NDIS-specific nuance is what you need.
- –Less market penetration in pure-play NDIS disability support than ShiftCare. Fewer coordinators will have prior experience with it when you hire.
Who each platform suits
ShiftCare may suit you if:
- –NDIS billing is your primary pain and you need PACE integration, Xero/MYOB connectivity, and billing depth out of the box
- –Your operation is purely or primarily NDIS disability support delivery
- –You want a platform with strong market presence — coordinators you hire will likely already know it
- –Your per-user headcount is manageable at the pricing tiers — typically under 40 to 50 staff
- –You need a platform that is fast to set up and already trusted by a large share of the NDIS sector
CareMaster may suit you if:
- –You run NDIS alongside aged care or home care and want a single platform for all care types
- –Your workforce is shared across NDIS and aged care clients and you need unified rostering
- –Aged care compliance requirements — Quality Standards, Support at Home, SIRS — are part of your operational obligations
- –You are evaluating cost across multiple care verticals and a single subscription covering all of them has real value
What to consider if neither fits
If you are evaluating ShiftCare and CareMaster and neither feels quite right, the mismatch is often one of these:
- –You are a pure-play NDIS disability support provider with no aged care component, so CareMaster's multi-vertical breadth is not relevant to you
- –You are finding ShiftCare's per-user pricing expensive as your headcount grows — particularly at 50 or more staff
- –You want SCHADS rates calculated at the rostering layer, with the loaded shift cost visible before you confirm an assignment, not reconciled after payroll
- –You need to be operational within a week, not a month
If that profile matches your situation, Teiro is worth adding to your shortlist. Teiro is built specifically for NDIS disability support providers with 20 to 200 staff. It is not a home care platform with an NDIS module added, and it is not trying to cover aged care. The scope is deliberate: do NDIS workforce management well rather than cover every care vertical.
SCHADS calculated at the rostering layer
When you assign a shift in Teiro, the SCHADS penalty rate for that shift — broken shift, sleepover, Saturday, Sunday, public holiday — is calculated immediately. The loaded shift cost is visible before you confirm the assignment. There is no separate SCHADS configuration step and no manual cross-checking after payroll runs. Casual public holiday rates are applied at 275% with loading embedded, not at 250% with loading added separately.
Pricing that does not escalate the same way
Teiro is free for organisations with 5 or fewer active users — the full platform, no trial expiry, no credit card. Per-user pricing above that, published at teiro.com.au/pricing. No SMS per-message charges. No quote-only tier.
Qualification enforcement at the point of assignment
When a carer’s NDIS Worker Screening Check has lapsed or a required credential has expired, Teiro excludes them from the assignment workflow before a coordinator sees the list. The enforcement happens at rostering, not as a separate compliance audit. For organisations managing high-intensity supports, required competency assessments are checked at the same step.
Operational within days, not weeks
There is no implementation project required to get Teiro running. Most providers have live rosters within three to five days of setup. Onboarding support is included at no extra cost. If you are comparing this to a multi-week ShiftCare setup or a structured CareMaster onboarding process, the difference is real.
An honest note on fit: If your primary pain is NDIS billing at high volume — complex PACE workflows, bulk claim submission, Xero or MYOB integration that your payroll process depends on — ShiftCare is the stronger choice for that specific requirement, and Teiro does not try to replicate it in that area. If you run aged care alongside NDIS and genuinely need both in one system, CareMaster is designed for that scenario and Teiro is not. The cases where Teiro is the closer fit are pure-play NDIS disability support providers who are growing past the point where ShiftCare’s per-user pricing works for their headcount, or who want operational depth at the rostering layer that neither platform delivers.
Common questions
Is ShiftCare or CareMaster better for NDIS providers?
It depends on what your NDIS operation looks like. ShiftCare is the stronger choice if NDIS billing depth is your primary concern — its invoicing, PACE integration, and Xero connectivity are mature and widely used across the Australian NDIS sector. CareMaster is the stronger choice if your organisation runs NDIS alongside aged care or home care and you want a single platform across all three. For providers focused purely on NDIS disability support, ShiftCare is the more purpose-built option of the two.
Which is cheaper — ShiftCare or CareMaster?
CareMaster's pricing at approximately $9 per user per month sits at the low end of ShiftCare's range, which runs from $8 to $25 per user per month depending on the plan. At low headcount the difference is marginal. At 50 or more staff, the plan tier matters — a provider on ShiftCare's higher tiers will pay significantly more per user than CareMaster's flat rate. ShiftCare also charges $0.10 per SMS, which adds up if your coordinators send high message volumes. The right cost comparison depends on your headcount, the ShiftCare plan tier you need, and how heavily you use messaging.
Can I use CareMaster for both NDIS and aged care?
Yes. This is one of CareMaster's core design points. Providers running residential aged care, home care, or Support at Home alongside NDIS disability support can manage all of it within CareMaster rather than running separate systems. The rostering, client records, billing, and workforce management span care types in a single deployment. This multi-vertical capability is the main reason providers choose CareMaster over a more NDIS-specific platform.
What are the alternatives to ShiftCare and CareMaster?
The main alternatives in the Australian market depend on your profile. For large providers with complex multi-funding operations or plan management, Flowlogic and Lumary are worth evaluating. For enterprise scale with Salesforce integration, Lumary is used by some of the larger NDIS organisations. For mid-size providers focused on NDIS disability support delivery — say 20 to 200 staff — Teiro is designed specifically for that context: modern rostering with SCHADS calculated at the scheduling layer, NDIS billing, qualification enforcement, and a carer app built for daily field use. Free for up to 5 active users and per-user priced above that.
See whether Teiro fits your NDIS operation
If ShiftCare and CareMaster are not quite the right fit for a growing NDIS disability support provider, book a 30-minute walkthrough of Teiro. We will show you the scheduling board, SCHADS calculations, qualification enforcement, and NDIS billing in a live environment.
No implementation project. Transparent pricing. No commitment required to start.
Free for 5 or fewer active users. No credit card required.