What is the minimum engagement rule?
Under the SCHADS Award (Clause 10.5), each time a part-time or casual employee starts a separate period of work, they must be paid for a minimum of two hours — even if the actual work performed takes less time.
The rule applies to:
- Home care workers
- Disability support workers
- Community service workers under the SCHADS Award
- Both part-time and casual employees
Full-time employees are not directly subject to the minimum engagement rule in the same way, because their hours are determined by their contracted weekly hours — but in practice the rule shapes how rosters are structured for all staff in these streams.
When does it apply?
The minimum engagement rule applies to each separate engagement — meaning each time a worker starts work:
- Each individual visit to a client counts as a separate engagement if there is a break between visits
- A worker who does a morning visit, leaves, and returns for an afternoon visit has two separate engagements — each requiring a minimum two-hour payment
- Travel time between clients within a continuous shift (with no unpaid break) is paid work time and does not create separate engagements
What does it mean for short visits?
If you roster a 45-minute personal care visit, you must pay the worker for two hours. The extra time does not need to involve work — it is simply the minimum payment the Award requires for making someone available.
This is not a penalty or a fine. It is the Award's baseline protection for workers who are employed on a shift-by-shift basis and bear the economic risk of short calls.
Worked example
A casual Level 2, Pay Point 2 support worker ($44.59/hr casual rate) is rostered for a 45-minute morning medication prompt visit.
| What actually happened | What you pay |
|---|---|
| 45 minutes of work | 2 hours minimum |
| $44.59 × 0.75 = $33.44 | $44.59 × 2 = $89.18 |
The worker earns $89.18 regardless of how long the visit takes.
The real cost of a short visit
When you think about what a short visit actually costs, the minimum engagement rule means your unit cost is effectively the 2-hour rate divided by the actual time needed:
This has direct implications for how you structure packages, quote for services, and plan rosters. Only once the actual work reaches 2 hours does the per-hour rate match the Award minimum.
Grouping visits
The most common practical response is to group short visits together. Instead of rostering a separate worker for each 30-minute visit, you schedule one worker for a block of consecutive visits in the same area. If the visits are back to back with only travel time between them (no unpaid break), the minimum engagement applies only once to the full block.
However, once an unpaid break is introduced, each subsequent period becomes a new engagement. See the Broken Shifts page for how that interacts with the allowance rules.
NDIS / HCP funding pressure: Some clients genuinely only need a short check-in. The Award does not require you to provide two hours of service — it requires you to pay for two hours of the worker's time. If the service agreement only funds 30 minutes, the provider bears the cost difference. This is one of the places where NDIS pricing and Award entitlements can create financial pressure for providers.
What if a visit is cancelled after the worker arrives?
If a worker arrives at a client's home and the visit is cancelled — the client is not home, has gone to hospital, or withdraws consent on arrival — the worker is still entitled to the minimum engagement payment. They showed up and were available for work. Under the SCHADS Award, the minimum engagement protection covers any situation where a worker starts a period of work, including a situation where the work is immediately cut short through no fault of the worker.
Does the minimum engagement apply to sleepovers?
No. The sleepover allowance is a separate flat rate payment and operates independently of the minimum engagement rules. See the Sleepover vs Active Night page for how sleepovers are paid.