The overtime rules in the SCHADS Award (MA000100) are in clause 28.1, and they depend on whether the employee is full-time, or part-time or casual, and on which stream they work in. Every rule below is quoted from the Award with its clause number.
| Employee | What triggers overtime | Rate | Clause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time, disability services, home care and day care | Authorised work in addition to rostered ordinary hours, on any day or shift | Monday to Saturday: time and a half for the first 2 hours, double time after. Sunday: double time. Public holiday: double time and a half | 28.1(a)(i), (iii), (iv) |
| Full-time, social and community services and crisis accommodation | As above | Monday to Saturday: time and a half for the first 3 hours, double time after. Sunday and public holiday as above | 28.1(a)(ii) |
| Part-time and casual | More than 38 hours a week or 76 hours a fortnight, or more than 10 hours in a day or shift | Time and a half for the first 2 hours, double time after. Sunday: double time. Public holiday: double time and a half | 28.1(b)(i), (ii) |
| Part-time and casual, shift split around a sleepover by agreement | More than 12 hours in a day or shift | As above | 28.1(b)(iii), (iv) |
| Part-time and casual day workers | Time worked outside the ordinary span of hours (clause 25.2(a)) | Time and a half for the first 2 hours, double time after | 28.1(b)(vi) |
Quotations are from the Fair Work Commission's consolidated Award MA000100. 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 check the current text on the Fair Work Commission's Award page before you pay.
"A full-time employee will be paid the following payments for all work done in addition to their rostered ordinary hours either on any day or on any shift and, in the case of day workers, for work done outside the span of hours under clause 25.2(a):
(i) disability services, home care and day care employees—for all authorised overtime on Monday to Saturday, payment will be made at the rate of time and a half for the first 2 hours and double time thereafter;
(ii) social and community services and crisis accommodation employees—for all authorised overtime on Monday to Saturday, payment will be made at the rate of time and a half for the first 3 hours and double time thereafter;
(iii) for all authorised overtime on a Sunday, payment will be made at the rate of double time;
(iv) for all authorised overtime on a public holiday, payment will be made at the rate of double time and a half; and
(v) overtime rates under this clause will be in substitution for, and not cumulative upon, the shift premiums prescribed in clause 29—Shiftwork, and Saturday and Sunday work premiums prescribed in clause 26—Saturday and Sunday work."
Two points that are easy to miss. First, for a full-time employee overtime is work "in addition to their rostered ordinary hours" on any day or shift, not only hours above 38 in a week. Second, the overtime rate replaces the shift and weekend premiums (clause 28.1(a)(v)); the two are not added together.
Worked examples (illustrative, ordinary rate $30.00 an hour, full-time disability services employee):
For part-time and casual employees overtime is triggered by hours worked, not by the roster. The Award sets two tests:
"(i) All time worked by part-time or casual employees in excess of 38 hours per week or 76 hours per fortnight will be paid for at the rate of time and a half for the first 2 hours and double time thereafter, except that on Sundays such overtime will be paid for at the rate of double time and on public holidays at the rate of double time and a half.
(ii) All time worked by part-time or casual employees which exceeds 10 hours either per day or per shift, will be paid at the rate of time and a half for the first 2 hours and double time thereafter, except on Sundays when overtime will be paid for at the rate of double time, and on public holidays at the rate of double time and a half."
Time worked up to those limits is not overtime. Clause 28.1(b)(v) says it is paid "at the ordinary rate of pay (including the casual loading in the case of casual employees)".
Where an employee and employer have agreed a 12-hour shift with part of the shift immediately before and part immediately after a sleepover, the daily threshold is 12 hours instead of 10:
"(iii) Despite clause 28.1(b)(ii), where part of a shift is performed immediately before and part of the shift immediately after a sleepover period, all time worked by part-time or casual employees which exceeds 12 hours either per day or per shift will be paid at the rate of time and a half for the first 2 hours and double time thereafter, except on Sundays when overtime will be paid at the rate of double time, and on public holidays at the rate of double time and a half."
There is a third, separate trigger for part-time and casual day workers specifically: working outside their ordinary span of hours (clause 25.2(a)) is overtime in its own right, even on a day where neither the weekly nor the daily-hours test above is reached:
"(vi) All time worked outside the span of hours by part-time and casual day workers will be paid for at the rate of time and a half for the first two hours and double time thereafter, except that on Sundays such overtime will be paid for at the rate of double time and on public holidays at the rate of double time and a half."
Worked example (illustrative, $30.00 an hour): a part-time employee works 41 hours in a week with no single shift over 10 hours. The 3 hours above 38 are overtime: (2 × $30.00 × 1.5) + (1 × $30.00 × 2) = $150.00, in addition to the ordinary rate for the first 38 hours.
An employee and employer can agree that overtime is taken as time off instead of being paid, but only in writing and only for a particular amount of overtime:
"(a) An employee and employer may agree in writing to the employee taking time off instead of being paid for a particular amount of overtime that has been worked by the employee.
(c) The period of time off that an employee is entitled to take is the same as the number of overtime hours worked.
(d) Time off must be taken: (i) within the period of 3 months after the overtime is worked; and (ii) at a time or times within that period of 3 months agreed by the employee and employer."
Note that the time off is the same as the overtime hours worked (clause 28.2(c)), not the overtime hours multiplied by the overtime rate. If the time off is not taken within 3 months, or the employee asks to be paid, the Award requires payment at the overtime rate that applied when the overtime was worked (clauses 28.2(e) and (f)). Each pay period's overtime needs its own agreement, and the employer must keep a copy as an employee record (clauses 28.2(b) and (g)).
"(a) An employee, other than a casual, who works so much overtime between the termination of their ordinary work on any day or shift and the commencement of their ordinary work on the next day or shift that they have not had at least 10 consecutive hours off duty between those times, will be released after completion of such overtime until they have had 10 consecutive hours off duty without loss of pay for rostered ordinary hours occurring during such absence.
(b) If, on the instructions of the employer, such an employee resumes or continues work without having had 10 consecutive hours off duty, they will be paid at the rate of double time until they are released from duty for such rest period and they will then be entitled to be absent until they have had 10 consecutive hours off duty without loss of pay for rostered ordinary hours occurring during such absence."
For rostering this is the rule that bites after a late finish: if you roster or ask someone to start again before they have had 10 consecutive hours off duty, double time applies until they are released.
"An employee who is recalled to work overtime after leaving the workplace and requested by their employer to attend a workplace in order to perform such overtime work will be paid for a minimum of two hours' work at the appropriate rate for each time recalled. If the work required is completed in less than two hours the employee will be released from duty."
Clause 28.5 adds rest breaks when an employee recalled after leaving the premises works for more than four hours: 20 minutes for a meal and a further 20 minutes after each subsequent four hours' overtime, all counted as time worked.
Because the triggers differ by employee type and by day, an overtime check needs three facts for every shift: the employee's type and stream, the hours already worked that week, and the day and finish time of the shift. Providers who work this out in a spreadsheet most often miss the part-time and casual daily test (over 10 hours in a shift), the Sunday and public holiday rates, and the 10-hour rest rule.
CareIQ works out penalty loadings and overtime from the shifts your staff actually worked, and itemises them on the timesheet. Your organisation checks the results against the current Award before paying, and remains responsible for pay accuracy. Try the free SCHADS pay calculator for a single shift (indicative only), or see NDIS payroll software with SCHADS rates.
Related guides: SCHADS penalty rates explained, meal break compliance, sleepover allowance and broken shift allowance.
For part-time and casual employees, yes: time worked in excess of 38 hours per week or 76 hours per fortnight is overtime (clause 28.1(b)(i)). For full-time employees, overtime is authorised work in addition to rostered ordinary hours on any day or shift (clause 28.1(a)).
For disability services, home care and day care employees, time and a half for the first 2 hours and double time after that on Monday to Saturday. Overtime on a Sunday is double time, and on a public holiday it is double time and a half. For social and community services employees the first tier is 3 hours (clause 28.1(a)).
Yes. Time worked that exceeds 10 hours per day or per shift is overtime for part-time and casual employees (clause 28.1(b)(ii)), or 12 hours where an agreed 12-hour shift is split around a sleepover (clause 28.1(b)(iii)).
Yes, by written agreement for a particular amount of overtime. The time off equals the overtime hours worked and must be taken within 3 months, otherwise the overtime is paid (clause 28.2).
No. For a full-time employee the overtime rates replace both the shift premiums and the Saturday and Sunday premiums (clause 28.1(a)(v)). For part-time and casual employees, clause 28.1(b)(vii) says the overtime rates replace the shift premiums and do not apply to ordinary hours worked on a Saturday or Sunday.
An employee other than a casual who has not had at least 10 consecutive hours off duty after overtime is released until they have, without loss of pay for rostered ordinary hours. If they are instructed to resume work sooner, double time applies until they are released (clause 28.3).
CareIQ works out overtime and penalties from the shifts your staff actually worked and itemises them on the timesheet. Your organisation checks the results against the current Award. 2-month free trial, no setup fee.
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