NDIS Support Worker Public Holiday Rates for 2025
Understand 2025 NDIS support worker public holiday rates under the SCHADS Award. Learn pay rates, casual loadings, and compliance tips for providers.
When public holidays roll around, the pay rate for support workers shifts significantly. For those working under the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (SCHADS Award) and in the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) sector, understanding how public‑holiday rates are calculated is critical for both support workers and providers.
This article breaks down how public holiday rates apply in 2025, what they mean in practice, and what you need to know.
What Are Public Holiday Rates?
A public holiday rate is the premium pay rate a worker receives when they work on a recognised public holiday. It reflects the fact that the worker is providing support on a day when many others aren’t working, and often outside usual hours.
Under the SCHADS Award, public holiday work attracts a significantly higher loading than standard hours or weekend hours.
How the SCHADS Award Treats Public Holiday Work ?
The Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry (SCHADS) Award 2010 sets the legal minimum pay and conditions for support workers in the NDIS and community-care sectors. Public holiday work is one of the key areas where employees receive higher pay to recognise the inconvenience of working on nationally recognised holidays.
Here’s how it works in detail:
1. Full-Time and Part-Time Employees - 250% Pay Rate
Under the SCHADS Award, if a full-time or part-time employee works ordinary hours on a public holiday, they are entitled to double time and a half (250%) of their base hourly rate.
- This means the employee earns 2.5 times their standard hourly pay for every hour worked on that day.
- For example, if your ordinary rate is $40/hour, you’ll earn $100/hour on a public holiday ($40 × 2.5).
- This loading applies to ordinary hours worked on a public holiday. If you work overtime hours as well, overtime penalties may still apply, but are calculated separately.
Why it exists:
The 250% rate compensates workers for giving up time that would otherwise be a designated rest day. It’s also a way to encourage fairness for essential care roles that continue on holidays (like disability, aged care, and home-care services).
2. Casual Employees - 275% Pay Rate (Including Casual Loading)
Casual employees have no guaranteed hours or paid leave, so they already receive a 25% casual loading on top of the base rate to compensate for that flexibility.
When a casual worker works on a public holiday, the public holiday penalty (250%) is combined with their 25% casual loading, bringing the total to 275% of the base rate.
Example:
- Base rate: $40/hour
- 275% rate = $40 × 2.75 = $110/hour
This means a casual support worker earns slightly more than a part-timer or full-timer on a public holiday, reflecting the higher level of flexibility and lack of paid leave entitlements.
3. Public Holiday Penalty vs. Overtime and Other Loadings
The public holiday rate is considered the primary premium. This means:
- It overrides regular weekend or evening penalties - you don’t “stack” multiple penalties unless specifically stated in your contract or agreement.
- However, if your shift on a public holiday exceeds your ordinary hours (for example, you work 10 hours instead of 8), overtime penalties can still apply on top of the public holiday rate for those excess hours.
Example:
- A Level 3 worker’s base rate = $38.42/hour
- Public holiday rate = $38.42 × 2.5 = $96.05/hour
- If the shift extends beyond the rostered 8 hours, overtime may apply after the 8th hour, calculated at the appropriate overtime rate.
This ensures fairness for long shifts while preventing double-counting of standard penalties.
In Short:
Public Holiday Rates for NDIS Support Workers
Public holidays play a vital role in ensuring fair compensation for NDIS support workers who provide essential care during times when most employees have the day off. The Fair Work Commission sets clear guidelines under the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award (MA000100) to ensure that workers are properly paid for their time and commitment.
From 1 October 2025, NDIS support workers are entitled to 2.5 times (250%) their ordinary hourly rate when they work on a public holiday. This rate applies to both full-time and part-time employees. For casual workers, public holiday pay also includes the 25% casual loading, ensuring their total compensation reflects the additional time and flexibility required to work on these days.
Full-Time & Part-Time Support Workers
(Source: Fair Work Pay Guide - MA000100, Effective 1 October 2025)
Casual Support Workers
Casual support workers also benefit from penalty rates, combining their 25% casual loading with the public holiday multiplier. This ensures fair recognition for the flexibility and availability required to work on these days.
(Source: Fair Work Pay Guide – MA000100, Effective 1 October 2025)
Public holiday rates recognise the essential service NDIS support workers provide to participants who require consistent care, regardless of the date. These higher pay rates not only compensate staff for their availability but also help maintain continuity of care during holiday periods.
For the latest updates or to calculate exact pay based on classification, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay and Conditions Tool at calculate.fairwork.gov.au.
How to Calculate Your Public Holiday Pay?
- Identify your classification level (e.g., Level1, Level 2, Level 3) under the SCHADS Award and confirm your base hourly rate.
- Determine the applicable public holiday loading. Under many interpretations: ordinary hours worked on a public holiday = 250% of base rate for full‑/part‑time employees.
- Multiply: Base Hourly Rate × 2.5 = Public Holiday Hourly Rate (approx).
- Example: Base rate = $38.42 → Public holiday rate ≈ $38.42 × 2.5 = $96.05 per hour.
- If you are casual, add on your casual loading (typically 25%) on top of the public holiday rate, meaning around 275% of base.
What Does This Means for Support Workers?
- You’ll earn significantly more for working on public holidays, but make sure you know your classification, base rate, and how your employer calculates the loading.
- Confirm whether your shift includes other loadings (night shift, broken shift, on‑call) and how they interact with public holiday rates.
- Ensure your payslip reflects the correct hourly rate and that you’re not under‑paid.
- For casuals, check that the casual loading is properly included along with the public holiday premium.
What Does This Means for NDIS Service Providers & Participants?
For Providers
- Rostering care on public holidays means significantly higher labour cost per hour.
- Transparent pricing is essential: participants should understand if their session falls on a public holiday and why the cost may be higher.
- Ensure compliance with the SCHADS Award and that staff are paid appropriately to avoid under‑payment risk.
- Use reliable systems (payroll/timesheet) that apply the correct loading for public holidays.
For Participants
- Understand that if your support session falls on a public holiday, you may see a higher charge (reflecting the higher worker pay rate).
- Ask your provider: “What rate applies for public holiday support for my worker classification?”
- Plan ahead: if you’re scheduling care during public holidays, check the cost, and whether alternative days may reduce expenses (if feasible and appropriate).
How Imploy Helps with Public Holiday Pay and Compliance
At imploy, we make managing public holiday rates and payroll compliance simple for NDIS providers. Our platform is designed to ensure workers are paid correctly under the SCHADS Award, without the stress of manual calculations or compliance errors.
Here’s how Imploy supports providers and teams during public holidays:
- Automated Award Interpretation
imploy’s payroll system automatically applies the correct public holiday loadings (250% for permanent staff, 275% for casuals) according to the SCHADS Award, ensuring staff are paid fairly and accurately. - Transparent Rostering Tools
Our rostering feature clearly highlights upcoming public holidays and associated rates, helping providers plan shifts and budgets in advance. - Accurate Payroll and Timesheets
imploy integrates timesheets with pay rates so that every public holiday shift is calculated correctly - reducing the risk of underpayment or Fair Work compliance issues. - Clear Participant Invoicing
We help providers maintain transparent pricing by automatically including the correct rate in invoices, so participants understand why their public holiday sessions may cost more. - Fairness for Workers, Clarity for Providers
With imploy, providers can focus on delivering quality care while being confident their payroll and compliance obligations are met every time.
Final Thoughts
Public holidays are more than just a day off - they represent an opportunity to ensure NDIS support workers are fairly compensated for providing essential care when most others are not working. Understanding how public holiday rates are calculated under the SCHADS Award helps both workers and providers plan, budget, and maintain compliance.
For support workers, knowing your classification, base rate, and applicable loadings ensures you are paid correctly and recognised for your commitment. For providers, transparent rostering and payroll systems, like imploy, make it easier to manage costs, ensure compliance, and communicate clearly with participants about public holiday charges.
Ultimately, fair pay and clear communication benefit everyone: workers receive recognition for their efforts, providers stay compliant, and participants continue to receive reliable, high-quality care - even on holidays.
FAQs
Q: Are public holiday loadings the same for all support workers?
A: No. The loading depends on your classification level under the SCHADS Award, your base rate, whether you are full‑time/part‑time or casual, and any relevant enterprise agreement.
Q: If I’m casual, what public holiday rate do I get?
A: Casuals are typically entitled to about 275% of their base rate for public holiday hours (this includes the casual loading).
Q: Do participants pay more because of public holiday rates?
A: Potentially yes - the cost to providers is higher when support workers are paid public holiday rates. Participants should ask for transparency. However, providers must still respect participants’ budgets and plan choices under the NDIS.
Q: What happens if my shift starts on a public holiday but finishes the next day?
A: The hours worked on the public holiday attract the public holiday rate. Once the shift moves past midnight into a normal day, those hours revert to the standard or applicable penalty rate (like evening or weekend rate).
Q: Can my employer force me to work on a public holiday?
A: Employers can request you to work on a public holiday, but you have the right to reasonably refuse the request. Whether it’s reasonable depends on factors like your personal circumstances, the nature of your role, and workplace needs.
