Allowances are equally important to base rates, and frequently underpaid. The Award prescribes specific allowances for a range of circumstances common in care settings: sleepovers, first aid responsibilities, vehicle use, and others.
Allowances in the SCHADS Award (MA000100) come in two kinds: percentages of a defined "standard rate", and fixed dollar amounts that the Award adjusts on stated dates. This guide gives the rule, the trigger and the clause for each, and leaves the dollar amounts to the Award, because they change.
| Allowance | When it is payable | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| Sleepover | 4.9% of the standard rate for each night the employee sleeps over; work during the sleepover is paid separately | 25.7 |
| First aid | 1.67% of the standard rate per week for a full-time employee required to hold a first aid certificate and to perform first aid (or, for home care, to be responsible for first aid in the week); pro rata for part-time and casual | 20.6 |
| Vehicle | When an employee is required and authorised to use their own motor vehicle, a rate per kilometre | 20.7(a) |
| Meal | When required to work more than one hour after the usual finishing hour (overtime), unless the employer supplies an adequate meal | 20.5 |
| On call | Percentage of the standard rate for each 24-hour period or part thereof on call | 20.11 |
| Uniform and laundry | Uniforms supplied free, or an allowance by agreement; laundry allowance if uniforms are not laundered by the employer | 20.2 |
| Telephone | Where the employer requires a telephone to be installed or maintained for being on call | 20.8 |
Quotations are from the Fair Work Commission's consolidated Award MA000100. The Award defines the standard rate as "the minimum wage for a Social and community services employee level 3 at pay point 3 in clause 15.3". The Award rates are minimums, and an enterprise agreement or contract can provide more. Your organisation is responsible for applying the Award to its own staff, so take the current dollar amounts from the Fair Work Commission's Award page before you pay.
The allowance is 4.9% of the standard rate for each night on which the employee sleeps over. It is not a payment for being woken. Clause 25.7(e) says what is paid if the employee is required to work during the sleepover:
"In the event of the employee on sleepover being required to perform work during the sleepover period, the employee will be paid for the time worked at the prescribed overtime rate with a minimum payment as for one hour worked. Where such work exceeds one hour, payment will be made at the prescribed overtime rate for the duration of the work."
The time worked is paid at the overtime rate, not the ordinary rate, and a short call-out still pays one hour. The full rules, with the four-hour rule for work either side of the sleepover, are in our guide to the SCHADS sleepover allowance.
The trigger is not simply holding a certificate. The employer must require the employee to hold one and to use it in the way the clause describes:
"(a) First aid allowance—full-time employees
A weekly first aid allowance of 1.67% of the standard rate per week will be paid to a full-time employee where:
(i) an employee is required by the employer to hold a current first aid certificate; and
(ii) an employee, other than a home care employee, is required by their employer to perform first aid at their workplace; or
(iii) a home care employee is required by the employer to be, in a given week, responsible for the provision of first aid to employees employed by the employer.
(b) First aid allowance—casual and part-time employees
The first aid allowance in 20.6(a) will apply to eligible part time and casual employees on a pro rata basis on the basis that the ordinary weekly hours of work for full-time employees are 38."
For a home care employee the allowance depends on being responsible for first aid in a given week, so it can vary week to week with the roster.
"Where an employee is required and authorised by their employer to use their motor vehicle in the course of their duties, the employee is entitled to be reimbursed at the rate of"
a rate per kilometre stated in the clause, which is adjusted from time to time. Take the current figure from the Award for the date the travel happened. Clause 20.7 also covers fares, meals and accommodation:
"An employee required to stay away from home overnight will be reimbursed the cost of reasonable accommodation and meals."
Clause 20.7 is about reimbursing expenses. It does not use the words "travel time", and whether time spent travelling between clients is paid working time depends on the facts of the role, so confirm it with your payroll adviser rather than assuming either way.
The meal allowance is tied to overtime. The Award says it is payable in addition to any overtime payment, in these circumstances:
"when required to work more than one hour after the usual finishing hour of work or, in the case of shiftworkers, when the overtime work on any shift exceeds one hour; and"
A further allowance is payable where the overtime exceeds four hours. The employer can instead supply an adequate meal where it has adequate cooking and dining facilities, and the clause does not apply where the employee "could reasonably return home for a meal within the meal break".
"An employee required by the employer to be on call (i.e. available for recall to duty at the employer's or client's premises and/or for remote work) will be paid an allowance of:"
The allowance is a percentage of the standard rate for each 24-hour period or part thereof: 2.0% for the period from finishing ordinary duty on Monday to finishing ordinary duty on Friday, and 3.96% for any other 24-hour period, or any public holiday, or part thereof.
"(a) Employees required by the employer to wear uniforms will be supplied with an adequate number of uniforms appropriate to the occupation free of cost to employees. Such items are to remain the property of the employer and be laundered and maintained by the employer free of cost to the employee.
(d) Where an employer requires an employee to wear rubber gloves, special clothing or where safety equipment is required for the work performed by an employee, the employer must reimburse the employee for the cost of purchasing such special clothing or safety equipment, except where such clothing or equipment is provided by the employer."
Instead of supplying uniforms, an employer may by agreement pay a uniform allowance, and where uniforms are not laundered at the employer's expense a laundry allowance is payable (clause 20.2(b)). Clause 20.3 adds a laundry allowance for soiled clothing other than a uniform, and clause 20.4 requires reimbursement of reasonable repair or replacement costs for clothing soiled or damaged in the course of duties, each with conditions about notice and evidence.
Allowances are underpaid when nobody owns the list. For each clause above, ask three questions: does this role meet the trigger, is the current amount in the Award applied for the date of the work, and is it on the payslip as its own line? Repeat the check whenever the Award rates change.
CareIQ includes allowances on timesheets, and your organisation checks them against the current Award before paying and remains responsible for pay accuracy. Allowance amounts and the dates they apply from are a common source of error in any payroll system, so check them against the Award for each pay run. Try the free SCHADS pay calculator for a single shift (indicative only), or see NDIS payroll software with SCHADS rates.
Related guides: sleepover allowance, broken shift allowance, penalty rates and pay rates.
A full-time employee whom the employer requires to hold a current first aid certificate and to perform first aid at their workplace (or, for home care, to be responsible for first aid in a given week). It applies pro rata to eligible part-time and casual employees (clause 20.6).
At the prescribed overtime rate for the time worked, with a minimum payment as for one hour worked (clause 25.7(e)).
Yes. Where an employee is required and authorised to use their own motor vehicle in the course of their duties, they are reimbursed at a rate per kilometre set in clause 20.7. Check the current rate in the clause for the date of the trip.
When an employee is required to work more than one hour of overtime after the usual finishing hour, unless the employer supplies an adequate meal or the employee could reasonably return home for a meal within the meal break (clause 20.5).
As a percentage of the standard rate for each 24-hour period or part thereof: 2.0% from finishing ordinary duty on Monday to finishing on Friday, and 3.96% for any other 24-hour period or any public holiday (clause 20.11).
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