It’s been a while since the last big changes to the SCHADS Award, but are you sure you’re across what still applies today?
Whether you’re managing rosters, handling allowances, or just trying to keep things fair and compliant, the SCHADS Award has a way of throwing curveballs. It’s one of the most complex modern awards in Australia, and after a major review, the 2022 changes added even more layers.
The Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (better known as the SCHADS Award) sets the minimum entitlements for a wide range of care-based roles. The updates that took effect from 1 July 2022 were designed to reflect how the sector actually works, but for many employers, they’ve introduced fresh challenges around interpretation, implementation, and staying on track.
Why is it so complex?
The SCHADS Award covers a diverse set of roles across:
- Aged care
- Disability support
- Community services
- Crisis accommodation
- Home care
That broad coverage means employers are juggling everything from client cancellations and broken shifts to remote work and minimum engagements all under one award.
And that’s exactly where problems arise.
Top 5 Issues Employers Face Under SCHADS
Minimum engagements & broken shifts
Employers often misunderstand the new minimum hours requirements for casuals and part-timers, especially when shifts are broken up or cancelled. Even short shifts may now require a minimum of 2–3 hours of pay, regardless of the actual time worked.
Travelling
If a worker travels between client locations, that travel time is considered paid time. Many employers mistakenly assume it’s unpaid, a costly error if Fair Work gets involved.
Client cancellations
Cancelled bookings don’t automatically mean you can cancel pay. You must either pay for the time or provide compliant “make-up time” within 6 weeks and this has to follow strict notice and rostering rules.
Remote work & on-call rules
Employees working remotely or responding to calls out-of-hours are entitled to minimum payments and penalty rates depending on the time and context of work. The admin burden of tracking this accurately can be significant.
Increasing guaranteed hours.
Part-time employees who’ve been working more than their contracted hours for 12 months now have the right to request a change to their guaranteed hours. Employers must respond within 21 days and many miss this requirement.
Are you compliant or at risk?
Whether you’re a community organisation, disability services provider, or home care operator, staying compliant with SCHADS is now more critical than ever. Fair Work is actively pursuing underpayments in this space and the reputational risk is real.
The SCHADS Award doesn’t just affect payroll. It shapes your rostering, HR practices, and enterprise bargaining strategy. Getting it wrong can lead to backpay claims, fines, and industrial unrest.
It’s been over two years since the major SCHADS Award updates took effect but many employers are still struggling to fully implement or correctly apply the changes. Whether you’ve already adjusted your systems or not, now is the right time to reassess, audit, and strengthen your compliance.
- Audit your current rostering practices. Are you meeting minimum engagement rules and correctly applying broken shift allowances?
- Check your payroll configuration. Even small underpayments (e.g. missed travel time or remote work penalties) can add up fast.
- Review client cancellation procedures. Are your make-up time and notice periods compliant with award obligations?
- Update your EA or workplace agreements. If you’ve had employee requests for increased hours or have been rolling over old terms, now’s the time to align with award minimums.
- Train your managers and team leaders. Localised rostering or informal arrangements often cause non-compliance. Make sure your whole team understands the rules.
Need some support?
The SCHADS Award is known for its grey areas and operational quirks. If you’re unsure how the changes apply to you or how to implement them without blowing out your labour costs, we can help.
The workplace lawyers at Workplace Wizards caan help provide expert assistance to help you based on the situation you’re currently in – we highly recommend you reach out to us ASAP to chat to one of our consultants today. Please call Workplace Wizards on 03 9087 6949 or email us at support@workplacewizards.com.au.
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