Coco, an energetic loving presence. The last year people couldn’t believe she wasn’t a puppy because she had so much energy. She had such a warming spirit and greeted everyone with so much love. I’m devastated I’ve watched the past few weeks of her kidney disease get the best of her. I’m still in shock, I wish we never have to say goodbye to loved ones.
There’s the obvious certificate III in individual support but what about if they have certificates like community services instead of that?
Management recently stated that completing specific training modules is a compulsory requirement of our role and will be paid by gift cards?
Hi everyone,
I’m a casual Disability Support Worker in NSW classified under the SCHADS Award (Pay Point 1.3).
I recently worked a long Friday that was split across 3 separate approved client bookings in ShiftCare:
10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Client A (2.5 hrs)
1:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Client B (5.0 hrs)
7:00 PM – 11:00 PM: Client C (4.0 hrs)
This came to 11.5 direct care hours spanning across a 12-hour total window in a single day.
Looking at my latest payslip, all 11.5 hours were paid as standard weekday ordinary hours (with a 10% afternoon loading applied to the evening 4-hour block).
Zero overtime hours were recorded on the payslip.
My understanding of Clause 28.1 of the SCHADS Award is that ordinary daily hours for any employee (including casuals) are capped at 10 hours per day, and anything past 10 hours must be paid at overtime rates (150% / 200%).
Paid for km but no travel time Inbetween. The breaks Inbetween is how long it takes to get to the next clients home.
Help please!
My day as followed:
Client a : 10am - 12:30 pm
Client b 1-6 pm
Client c 7-11 pm
I am a casual, never gotten broken shift allowance ever. Is this illegal?
Hello, support workers, I only get paid from travelling to one Client to another by the kilometres I travelled, but am I entitled to being paid travel time on top of that by my provider company?
Is anyone else going through this too after the new financial year? I’m a support worker in community and social
What’s up girl I know you come visit here
Hi everyone,
I’m a casual disability support worker in NSW and I need some urgent clarity on the SCHADS award rules regarding travel between clients.
My agency frequently schedules me for tight, consecutive blocks on the same day. For example, on a Wednesday, I will finish with Client A at 5:00 PM in one suburb and start with Client B at 5:30 PM in a neighboring suburb.
I have always been under the impression that because I’m casual, I am only allowed to claim the kilometres (the cents-per-km vehicle allowance) for the drive between them. However, I was recently told that under the SCHADS Award, the actual time spent driving between consecutive clients in a continuous workday legally counts as paid time worked at my standard casual hourly rate.
My agency’s logging app has a clear section to enter kilometres, but it completely leaves out any option or mention of logging travel time. I have never been paid my hourly rate for the time spent behind the wheel between shifts since I started here—only the KM allowance.
Am I being shortchanged here? Are casuals explicitly entitled to both the KM allowance and hourly pay for the travel time between consecutive clients?
Hey everyone,
I honestly feel quite stuck and very drained…
I’ve been a casual disability support worker for almost 4 years. My payslip has me locked at Level 1, Pay Point 3 under the national SCHADS Award [MA000100], earning a flat weekday rate of $35.15 an hour.
When I asked for a reclassification to Level 2 based on my experience, management formally rejected it. Their argument is:
When raising to them I am unsupervised and they said I follow a care plan so 1:1 supports doesn’t apply in their books?
In my real shifts, I am routinely:
Uncovering and doing forensic financial audits on complex elder abuse/fraud cases (e.g., catching thousands of dollars being coerced from a participant).
Managing acute mental health crises and heavy bereavement solo in the field.
Participants rely on me for emotional support for suicidal ideation
/ general depression and feel safer to talk about this over their psychologists. I do ask them if they tell their psychologist and they say they don’t help even switching. I also tell my company and you really have to ask 10 times for anything to be done. They just automate my shifts every week.
Having doing this intense work, I really do feel underpaid and an unqualified psychologist at times that doesn’t feel like they should prioritise me but obviously a medical professional.
Im currently sitting in my car staring at about 2 kilos of concentrated laundry powder that my client accidentally dumped directly over my gear stick, center console, and front seat. It is literally deep inside the shifting mechanism. If I try to wipe it with a damp cloth, my car is going to turn into a mobile laundromat foam party.
I’m a casual support worker is my company obligated to reimburse me for this?
Hey all, I’m a support worker with about 4 years in the sector. My current employer has a "charity" on the side which I found through their LinkedIn.
They claim to be a "registered charity" and offer:
● Food, Voucher & Furniture Assistance
● Emergency & Transitional Accommodation
● Access to Community & Health Services
● Individual Goal Support Plans
● Disability & Aged Care Support and Application Assistance
The Red Flags:
Has anyone seen this before? (This is the most greedy corporation so I don’t see them doing it in good faith)
My client discussed with me how they’ve got a cancellation fee if they cancel seven days up to a shift, now the company gets this money but me as a support worker doesn’t get. I’m just trying to understand if this is normal practice?
3 years ago I would get atleast 2 hours of the pay of the shift, now if they cancel on the day I get nothing but the company gets a cut.
They remove the shift off my app roster and I’m casual if this changes things.
Edit: I appreciate all your perspectives thank you kindly for educating me!