Working in the social, community, home care and disability services sector

Upcoming award changes: Aged Care Work Value Case

The Aged Care Work Value Case is a series of decisions of the Fair Work Commission that change minimum wages and conditions for employees in the aged care industry.

The changes take effect from 1 January 2025.

For more information, go to Aged Care – Work Value Case: Changes to awards.

Learn about who the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award covers.

There's also information on how employees are classified and what they should be paid.

On this page:

Who the Social, Community, and Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award covers

The Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award (SCHADS Award) covers employers that operate in one or more of the following sectors:

An employee is covered by the SCHADS Award if they fit within one of the classifications outlined in the award. For more information, go to Classifying in the award.

Tip: Different award names

The Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award can also be referred to as the:

  • Social and Community Services Award
  • SCHADS Award.

On this page, we refer to the award as the SCHADS Award.

Crisis assistance and supported housing sector

This sector includes the provision of crisis assistance and supported housing services.

Social and community services sector

This sector includes the provision of social and community services including organisations that mostly engage in policy, advocacy or representation on behalf of organisations carrying out such work.

Social and community services work includes:

  • social work
  • recreation work
  • welfare work
  • youth work
  • community development work.

This sector also includes businesses providing social, community or disability services.

Social, community or disability services includes providing personal care (including therapeutic care), and domestic and lifestyle support to a person with a disability. This can be in a community or residential setting and includes respite care.

Home care sector

This sector means providing personal care, domestic help or home maintenance to an older person or a person with disability in a private residence.

Family day care scheme sector

This sector covers employers operating a family day care scheme that provides family day care services. This sector covers employees who have roles such as:

  • registering family day care centres
  • providing administrative support for centres
  • assisting centres to access childcare subsidies for families.

This sector doesn’t cover employees whose role is to care for children.

The Miscellaneous Award covers employees providing care for children in a family day care setting. Find out more from our Library article: Award coverage for family day care employees.

Classifications in the SCHADS Award

Employees covered by the SCHADS Award are paid according to their classification. The classification descriptions are in Schedules B, C, D and E of the award.

An employee's classification will depend on the:

  • type of duties the employee performs
  • employee’s level of responsibility
  • experience or qualifications the employee needs to work at that level.

You can learn more about employee classifications at Award classifications.

Progression and pay points

Progression through pay points within a classification level doesn’t happen automatically unless it’s specified in the classification description.

Employees are eligible to move to higher pay points within higher classifications after completing 12 months of continuous employment at that level. They may also be required to demonstrate that they have:

  • gained new or enhanced existing skills in their role as required by the employer
  • had satisfactory performance in the previous 12 months.

Advancing to a higher classification level involves a promotion or reclassification.

Understand these rules from our Library article: Pay point progression in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award.

Overtime

Overtime can apply to some employees when they work more than their ordinary hours.

Full-time employees covered by the SCHADS Award get overtime pay when they work:

  • outside the spread of ordinary hours if they are day-workers, or
  • more than their rostered ordinary hours.

Part-time and casual employees get overtime pay when they work:

  • outside the spread of ordinary hours if they are day-workers
  • more than 38 hours per week or 76 hours per fortnight or
  • for more than 10 hours on a day or shift.

If the shift is more than 10 hours and it spans across 2 calendar days, overtime is paid even if there is less than 10 hours worked in each of the calendar days.

Overtime isn’t paid if an employee works more than 10 hours in a calendar day unless the hours are worked as part of the same shift.

Learn more about overtime from our When overtime applies and Overtime pay pages. Select 'Social, community, disability and home care services' for tailored award information.

Tip: Use our Library

Do you want more detailed information about the SCHADS Award?

Our Library covers more complex workplace issues. This includes:

  • award coverage for certain employees
  • allowances
  • broken shifts
  • sleepovers.

Tools and resources

Related information