CareIQ vs ShiftCare 2026 - An Honest Comparison for NDIS Providers

📅 Updated May 2026⏱ 8 min read👤 CareIQ Team

ShiftCare is the most widely used rostering platform for NDIS providers in Australia. CareIQ is a newer all-in-one alternative. This article compares both on pricing, features, and suitability, using only publicly available information.

The Core Difference

ShiftCare started as a rostering tool and has added care management features over time. CareIQ was built from scratch as a complete care management platform, clinical notes, behaviour tracking, SCHADS payroll, NDIS invoicing, custom digital forms, and SIL daily compliance are all native, not add-ons locked to higher tiers.

Pricing: The Biggest Practical Difference

ShiftCare charges per user, per month, and the price climbs as you move up tiers to unlock features. CareIQ also charges per staff member, but at one simple rate with core rostering, care records, SCHADS payroll and NDIS invoicing tools included. Family Portal and CareIQ Compliance are separate paid products.

Plan	ShiftCare	CareIQ
Entry level	Basic: $9/user/month (min 5 users)	$6/user/month, core platform
Mid tier	Professional: $15/user/month	$6/user/month, same full feature set
Top tier	Premium: $25/user/month	$6/user/month, volume pricing for 50+ staff
Custom forms access	⚠ Premium plan only ($25/user)	✓ Every plan
Setup / onboarding fee	⚠ One-time fees apply	✓ None; free migration help (scope agreed with each customer)
Free trial	7 days	2 months

💡 What per-user pricing actually costs as you grow

A provider with 20 staff who needs custom forms must be on ShiftCare Premium: 20 × $25 = $500/month minimum, plus setup fees, plus SMS and family access add-ons.

The same provider on CareIQ pays 20 × $6 = $120/month - custom forms included, no setup fee, free migration help (scope agreed with each customer). That's $380/month less - $4560 saved per year. And because the core platform is included on every plan, you never pay more to unlock a core feature. Family Portal and CareIQ Compliance are separate subscriptions.

Feature Comparison

Feature	ShiftCare	CareIQ
Rostering & scheduling	✓ All plans	✓ All plans
GPS clock-in / clock-out	✓	✓ With timesheet snap to scheduled time
NDIS invoicing & PRODA	✓ Professional+	✓ All plans
SCHADS payroll	⚠ Compliance checking & flags	✓ Full calculation, penalty rates, overtime, allowances
Custom digital forms	✕ Premium only ($25/user)	✓ All plans - build forms, PDF/CSV export
SIL daily compliance forms	✕ Not available	✓ Shift checklists - meals, observations, bowel, fluid, personal care
Digital service agreements	✕ Not available	✓ Pre-filled from client data, family signs digitally
E-signatures	⚠ Limited	✓ On notes, incidents, forms, service agreements
Clinical notes & handover	✓ Progress notes	✓ Structured templates, 18-hr handover window
Medication (MAR)	✓ Premium (eMAR)	✓ All plans, given / refused / missed doses, missed-dose alerts
Behaviour support (PBS)	✕ Not available	✓ Full ABC data collection, CareIQ Assist pattern analysis, NDIS reporting
Incident reporting	✓ Premium	✓ All plans, severity, antecedents, strategies, follow-up
Care plans & goals	✓ Premium	✓ All plans - NDIS goal tracking with progress ratings
Family portal	⚠ Add-on cost	✓ Two-way messaging (add-on)
Qualifications tracking	✓	✓ Expiry alerts, credential matrix, rostering blocks
CareIQ Assist features	✕ Basic	✓ Note quality check, behaviour analysis, shift-applicant ranking (processed by OpenAI in the United States)
Mobile app (staff)	✓ iOS & Android	✓ iOS & Android, clock in/out, notes, meds, incidents
Xero integration	✓	✓

Where ShiftCare Is Genuinely Stronger

This is an honest comparison so this matters:

Rostering maturity: ShiftCare's drag-and-drop roster is polished and well-tested at scale across many provider types.
Market presence: Larger installed base means more peer support, tutorials, and community knowledge.
Third-party integrations: More integrations built up over years.
Brand recognition: More providers know the name, which can ease staff adoption.

Where CareIQ Is Stronger

Custom forms on every plan: Build forms, link submissions to participants, and export PDF/CSV. Included at $6/user/month, not locked to a $25/user premium tier.
SIL / daily living compliance: CareIQ's shift checklists replace the paper forms and spreadsheets that group home and SIL providers use for daily observations, meal records, bowel charts, fluid intake, and personal care logs. ShiftCare has no equivalent.
SCHADS payroll in dollars: CareIQ calculates the exact dollar value per shift, ordinary, afternoon (+12.5%), night (+15%), Saturday (150%), Sunday (200%), public holiday (250%+), weekly overtime - and generates timesheet lines with penalty breakdowns. ShiftCare provides compliance checking; CareIQ does the payroll maths.
Behaviour support: CareIQ has a full Positive Behaviour Support data collection module. 15 behaviour categories, ABC structure, setting events, strategy effectiveness tracking, CareIQ Assist pattern analysis, and NDIS-ready reports. ShiftCare has no equivalent.
Digital service agreements: Generate an NDIS service agreement pre-filled from the client record, send it to the family by email, they sign digitally on their phone, no printer, no scanner, no wet signature. ShiftCare has no equivalent.
One per-user rate: $6/user/month including core rostering, care records, SCHADS payroll and NDIS invoicing tools, so the cost of each new hire is known in advance.
No setup fee, free migration help: No charge to get started. We help you move your data across at no charge - scope agreed with each customer.
2-month free trial: Long enough to run real fortnightly payroll cycles, generate real NDIS invoices, and evaluate properly. ShiftCare gives 7 days.

Who Should Stay on ShiftCare

Providers who primarily need rostering and basic invoicing and are comfortable on Basic or Professional plan
Teams fully set up on ShiftCare where switching cost currently outweighs the benefit
Providers who want the comfort of a larger, established platform

Who Should Consider Switching to CareIQ

SIL / group home providers currently using spreadsheets or paper forms for daily compliance documentation
Providers on ShiftCare Premium paying $25/user who are looking for better value
Providers running payroll in a separate tool because ShiftCare doesn't calculate the dollar amounts
Providers with NDIS behaviour support requirements - there is no equivalent to CareIQ's behaviour module in ShiftCare
Growing teams where per-user pricing is becoming a budget concern
New NDIS providers setting up and wanting everything in one place from day one
Providers tired of paying for custom forms that should be a standard feature

✅ Verdict

ShiftCare is a capable rostering platform with strong market presence. If you need scheduling and basic invoicing and your team is small, it works.

CareIQ is built for providers who need more: full SCHADS payroll in dollar amounts, custom digital forms on every plan, SIL daily compliance checklists, behaviour data collection, and digital signing, all at one simple $6/user rate with core rostering, care records, payroll and NDIS invoicing tools included. Family Portal and CareIQ Compliance are separate paid products.

If you're currently on ShiftCare Premium, running payroll in a separate tool, and building compliance forms in spreadsheets, the maths and the features both favour switching. Start with the 2-month free trial and run both in parallel.

See CareIQ with your own rosterRostering, SCHADS payroll, notes and NDIS invoicing in one system. Book a demo and we will walk through your set-up. Book a demo →

Try CareIQ free for 2 months

No setup fee. Free migration help from ShiftCare - scope agreed with each customer. No credit card required.
Long enough to run real payroll cycles and evaluate the platform properly.

Start Your 2-Month Free Trial

Disclaimer: Competitor information in this article is based on publicly available pricing and feature documentation as of May 2026. ShiftCare's pricing and features may change, verify current details at shiftcare.com. CareIQ is a competitor to ShiftCare and this article should be read in that context. All pricing figures sourced from ShiftCare's published pricing page.