What SIL is and why rostering is complex
SIL is NDIS funded support for participants who live in a shared or individual dwelling and require ongoing, usually 24-hour support to live as independently as possible. A typical 3-bed SIL house may have two or three residents, each funded for different support ratios, across all hours of the day.
The rostering complexity comes from several overlapping constraints:
- Support must be continuous — every shift handover is a compliance risk if not managed carefully.
- Overnight support can take either a sleepover form or an active night form, and the cost difference is significant.
- Multiple NDIS funding streams may be active at any time across the house's residents.
- Workers in SIL houses often work long consecutive shifts, affecting fatigue management and overtime obligations.
How sleepover shifts work
Sleepover allowance: $60.02 flat rate per night (effective 1 July 2025)
A sleepover shift is a period of up to 8 hours overnight during which a worker is required to be present at the premises but is allowed to sleep. The worker is not engaged in active support for the duration of the sleepover.
The flat rate covers the entire sleepover period regardless of its length, provided it does not exceed 8 hours. It is paid in addition to any other pay the worker receives for work performed that night. A sleepover is not a paid shift in the ordinary sense — the worker receives the $60.02 allowance for being available overnight, not their hourly rate for 8 hours.
Legal note (July 2025)
On 8 July 2025, the Federal Court handed down its decision in Jats Joint Pty Ltd v Fair Work Ombudsman [2025] FCA 743, finding that sleepovers under the SCHADS Award are separate and distinct periods of time that do not form part of a shift. This has implications for how sleepover hours interact with shift length limits and overtime calculations. If this decision affects your operational structure, seek independent legal advice and monitor the appeal status of this decision.
When a sleepover becomes an active night
If a worker is required to get up and perform active support during a sleepover, they are entitled to payment for that active time at their ordinary rate, with a minimum of one hour's pay at overtime rates.
There is no defined number of disturbances that automatically converts the entire sleepover to an active night shift. Each period of active work during a sleepover is paid separately. If a worker is called up twice during the night, they are paid for each active period (minimum 1 hour each at overtime rates).
Important: If a participant's support plan indicates high likelihood of overnight disturbance — due to epilepsy, complex behaviours, or high personal care needs — rostering a sleepover is often inappropriate. Repeated disturbances create retroactive pay obligations, audit risk, and may be flagged as a support quality issue. An active night shift, while more expensive, may be the correct response.
Structuring a compliant 24/7 SIL roster
Option A: Sleepover roster
| Shift type | SCHADS treatment |
|---|---|
| Day shift (morning) | Ordinary hours |
| Afternoon shift | Afternoon penalty if finishing after defined afternoon span |
| Sleepover | $60.02 flat allowance, active time paid separately |
Option B: Active night roster
| Shift type | SCHADS treatment |
|---|---|
| Day shift | Ordinary hours |
| Afternoon/evening shift | Afternoon penalty rate |
| Active night shift | Night penalty rate (clause 29) |
Under clause 29 of the SCHADS Award, work between midnight and 6:00 am attracts a night penalty of 150% for permanent workers (time and a half). For casuals, casual loading applies in addition.
Handover time
Factor in handover time between shifts. If your roster has a 15-minute handover period, you need to pay both the outgoing and incoming worker for that overlap. Do not roster handover time as unpaid.
Staffing FTE required
A 24/7 roster for a single SIL house requires approximately 5 to 6 FTE to cover shifts, sick leave, public holidays, and annual leave without excessive overtime. Many providers underestimate this and run lean rosters that generate regular overtime or require casuals to fill gaps.
Cost difference: sleepover roster vs active night roster
Scenario: 3-bed SIL house, one worker overnight, Level 3.1 permanent.
Sleepover roster
| Component | Cost/night |
|---|---|
| Sleepover allowance | $60.02 |
| 1 disturbance (1 hr OT) | $57.98 |
| Total (approx) | $118.00 |
Active night roster (8 hrs)
| Component | Cost/night |
|---|---|
| Night penalty rate | $463.80 |
| Total (approx) | $463.80 |
The difference per night is approximately $346. Across a full year (365 nights), the difference between a sleepover and an active night roster for one overnight worker is approximately $126,000 per year per SIL house.
The right decision depends on what the participants actually need, not what is cheapest. Using sleepovers when participants genuinely require active overnight support creates both a compliance risk and a quality risk.
NDIS SIL funding and the SCHADS cost squeeze
NDIS SIL funding is calculated based on the support needs of individual participants. In practice, many SIL providers find that the funded amount does not fully cover SCHADS-compliant labour costs, particularly:
- Weekend and public holiday penalty rates (150% Saturdays, 200% Sundays, 250% public holidays for permanent workers)
- Active night shifts where sleepover classification is not appropriate
- Handover time and travel time within the house's operations
The July 2025 NDIS pricing update increased prices by approximately 3.95%, broadly tracking but not fully covering the 3.5% SCHADS wage increase plus the superannuation guarantee rise to 11.5%. Providers managing SIL need to track actual cost per shift against funded rate and model the impact of overtime, penalty rates, and disturbance payments on each house's viability.