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Roster compliance: the quick-reference

Before you publish the roster, run through these five checks. They cover the SCHADS-specific traps that show up in 80% of compliance audits.

Rostering is where Award compliance lives or dies. The legal exposure is high, the pattern is repetitive, and the cost of getting it wrong compounds across every pay cycle. This framework covers the five checks every roster should pass before it goes live.

Have minimum engagement periods been met?

Minimum engagement periods under SCHADS depend on the stream, the type of work, and the employment type. They are not consistent across the Award and they are not consistent across providers.

Where it goes wrong: paying actual hours worked when the Award entitles the worker to a minimum. The shortfall is invisible to the worker until it is not, and then it is back-payable.

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Are broken shifts paid correctly?

What constitutes a 'broken shift' and how it should be paid depend on shift structure, the length and frequency of breaks, and whether the pattern has been agreed in writing.

Where it goes wrong: treating broken shifts as casual flexibility rather than as a distinct Award concept with specific structural and payment rules attached.

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Has overtime been calculated against ordinary hours, not against the day?

Overtime calculation under SCHADS depends on the employment type, the cycle the hours sit within, and the role's classification. Daily and cycle-based tests can both apply depending on context.

Where it goes wrong: applying a one-size rule (daily, weekly, or cycle-based) when the Award contemplates a more nuanced calculation. Over- or under-payment can both result.

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Have sleepover provisions been applied correctly?

How sleepover shifts should be paid depends on the version of the Award in force at the time, the structure of the shift, and any wake-up time involved. The 2026 determination changes several of these.

Where it goes wrong: using last year's roster pattern into the new period without re-pricing it. Underpayment compounds quickly across multiple sleepover-rich rosters.

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Are part-time hours within the agreed range?

What part-time hours look like depends on what was agreed at hire, what has been documented since, and how the Award treats variations to the pattern. Verbal flexibility is rarely enforceable.

Where it goes wrong: 'flexible' part-time arrangements that are not in writing. When hours move outside the agreed pattern, the Award may treat the excess as overtime regardless of intent.

Three things to watch for

1. Casual loading vs penalty rate

Casual loading is paid INSTEAD OF leave entitlements, not instead of penalty rates. Casuals still attract weekend, evening, and public holiday penalties on top.

2. The phantom "agreement" trap

An employee "agreeing" to work outside Award entitlements does not bind them or you. Agreements that undercut the Award are not enforceable.

3. Roster published vs roster paid

The pay run has to match the roster as worked, not as planned. Variances (no-shows, swaps, overtime) need to land correctly in payroll.

Before you publish the roster, run through these five checks. They cover the SCHADS-specific traps that show up in 80% of compliance audits.

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