What is Payroll For NDIS Providers?
Payroll for NDIS providers is the processing of pay for disability support workers under the SCHADS Award, alongside super, tax and Single Touch Payroll. It covers everything from correctly reading shift penalties through to keeping records audit-ready, so your workforce is paid accurately and your business stays compliant.
Payroll Software We Use
Why NDIS Payroll is Harder than Standard Payroll
Standard payroll rarely has to account for shift complexity like this, which is exactly why NDIS payroll trips up so many providers
SCHADS Interpretation
Every shift can carry a different rate. One misread classification creates an underpayment.
Shift-based Pay
Evening, weekend and public holiday penalties, broken shifts, sleepovers and 24-hour care.
Casual Workforce
A 25% loading, minimum engagements, and frequent starters and leavers to onboard.
NDIS Price Limits
You bill against capped prices, so wage costs have to stay inside the cap to remain viable.
Payroll Obligations For NDIS Providers
On top of SCHADS, NDIS providers carry the same five payroll obligations as every employer: PAYG, super, STP, Fair Work pay rules and payroll tax. Super is payable to casual support workers too.
| Obligation | Regulator | Key Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| SCHADS Award | Fair Work | Pay correct classifications, penalties, allowances and minimum engagements (MA000100) |
| Superannuation Guarantee | ATO | Pay 12% of ordinary time earnings, including for casuals. Payday Super from 1 July 2026 |
| Single Touch Payroll | ATO | Report wages, tax and super to the ATO every pay run (STP Phase 2) |
| PAYG Withholding | ATO | Withhold tax from each pay and remit it to the ATO |
| Payroll Tax | SRO VIC | Register once wages pass the state threshold ($1,000,000/yr in Victoria, rate 4.85%) |
| Record-Keeping | Fair Work | Keep time, wages, sleepover and travel records for 7 years |
Outsourcing payroll does not move your legal liability. HR Expertise does the work and lowers your risk, but as the employer, you remain responsible to Fair Work and the ATO. That’s why real SCHADS experience is worth paying for.
How Outsourced NDIS Payroll Works
Getting set up with payroll and NDIS support is straightforward, and you stay in control the whole way through.
Onboarding
We map workers to the right SCHADS levels and pay points, and load awards, super and tax details.
Roster & timesheets
You send approved shifts, including sleepovers, broken shifts and travel.
Award interpretation
We apply penalties, allowances, loadings and minimum engagements, then PAYG and super.
Your approval
You check and approve. Nothing is paid without your sign-off.
STP & payment
We lodge with the ATO and prepare the pay file, so workers are paid on time
Reporting & support
Each cycle reconciled, records kept audit-ready, STP finalised at year-end.
Innovative Payroll Software
Enhance your business operations with secure payroll technologies that enable efficient remote management. Leverage online payroll portals, along with attendance, leave management, rostering, and report generation functionalities, to streamline your payroll processes effectively.
Payroll Plans For NDIS Providers
Standard
Per Payslip
From $6.95
- Dedicated Account Manager
- Dedicated Payroll Advisor
- Calculation of Wages
- Superannuation Calculation
- Superannuation Lodgement
- Workers Compensation Declaration
- Payroll Tax Reporting
- Other Lodgement
- Additional Solutions
- Employee Onboarding
- Termination Calculation
- Bulk Transactions
- Out of Cycle Pay Runs
PREMIUM
Up To 100 Employees
From $2572.00
- Dedicated Account Manager
- Dedicated Payroll Advisor
- Calculation of Wages
- Superannuation Calculation
- Superannuation Lodgement
- Workers Compensation Declaration
- Payroll Tax Reporting
- Other Lodgement
- Additional Solutions
- Employee Onboarding
- Termination Calculation
- Bulk Transactions
- Out of Cycle Pay Runs
Why Choose HR Expertise Over Managing NDIS Payroll Alone
Handling SCHADS interpretation in-house means carrying the risk of every misread classification yourself, on top of the time it takes to stay current with award changes. As a specialist HR consulting firm, we bring sector-specific expertise that most generalist providers lack.
Australian-based payroll specialists who read SCHADS every day, across NDIS and disability services.
Sleepover, travel and timesheet logs kept complete, so you can show a clear record at audit.
A dedicated account manager, no retainers, no lock-in contracts, plus the $275 HR Advice Hotline.
If you’re a smaller provider weighing up your options, our payroll outsourcing for small business plans scale with your headcount rather than locking you into a package built for a much bigger team.
And if payroll is just one part of what you need help with, our broader HR outsourcing solutions can cover recruitment, compliance and performance management alongside it.
Ready to get your NDIS payroll handled properly? Get an NDIS payroll quote and find out how much time and risk you could hand off.
Reliable, professional, transparent and superior HR services. As a business owner, I’d highly recommend HR Expertise and wouldn’t work with any other HR company for our business needs.
Priscilla Maia, Managing Director – Yay Today
I have had nothing but an extremely positive experience with Cedric and the team at HR Expertise. From the very first onboarding phone call to day to day problem solving is nothing short of fantastic. The website is professional, easy to navigate and understand. It feels like Cedric and team are a part of the business rather than an external agency. I have had very quick turnaround times on advise and documents as well as strategic and operational direction. Cedric is best in the business and I feel very confident in Cedric’s ability to resolve day to day HR issues as well as decisions that require strategic thinking on a senior level. Highly recommend for a pain-free and highly competent top-shelf service. Well done team! I really look forward to developing our partnership further.
Vatsalya Bohra
Cedric was professional, knowledgeable, personable and efficient to work with. He provided sound and up to date advice on award coverage for our small business. We are thrilled to have found a HR consultant for our business and have no hesitation in recommending his services to other businesses, small or large.
Nicole Johnson, Business Manager – Misheye Image
I was able to get a hold of someone right away, and the advice given was clear, professional and easy to understand, which in turn assisted me on the next steps to take. Very friendly staff, easy to talk to and I was very happy with the service received.
Elli S
I used HR Expertise in the past and highly recommend them to anyone that is looking for quality HR services/advice. I found them to be very professional from the get go and was provided with good practical advice. Thanks again Cedric, I will be sure to use your services again in the future.
Arjun Jayachandra, Project Manager – Telstra
HRE’s advice with salary benchmarking, contract construct and assistance with drafting policies & procedures was fantastic!! They were easy to deal with and responsive with their turnaround time.
They are always willing to help and produce the most sound and proficient advice. Could not recommend anyone else more highly. No job is too big or too small.
Thank you so much HRE!
Gabrielle Street, Clinical Operations Manager – XRHealth
We used HR Expertise to guide us through the process of employing our first employee.
Cedric did a fantastic job, he provided us with all the documents that we needed in a very timely and professional manner as well as answered the many questions that we had.
Would highly recommend them and will use them again in the future!
Giovanni Colombo, Director – Rootech
I came across HR Expertise from Google as we needed to engage a local HR advisory for some work related assignment. Cedric fast responded to our queries, and we also received a very competitive pricing, that’s why we’ve decided to engage HR Expertise. Cedric is always fast to respond and provides very useful insight on local practice related with employment in Australia. I’m very grateful for Cedric and his HR Expertise excellent work!
Rini Rahmalia, HR Manager South East Asia – Rina
Can not thank HR Expertise enough! So grateful we found such a professional and helpful HR expert who completely understands our requirements and is flexible with our requests. Highly recommend HR Expertise for all their HR needs.
My first language is not English but he understood my thoughts very accurately and made changes quickly. I highly recommend HR Expertise for their professionalism and patience.
Thanks Cedric for your expertise with some of our Australia matters — appreciated
I have had nothing but an extremely positive experience with Cedric and the team at HR Expertise. From the very first onboarding phone call to day to day problem solving is nothing short of fantastic. The website is professional, easy to navigate and understand. It feels like Cedric and team are a part of the business rather than an external agency. I have had very quick turnaround times on advise and documents as well as strategic and operational direction. Cedric is best in the business and I feel very confident in Cedric’s ability to resolve day to day HR issues as well as decisions that require strategic thinking on a senior level. Highly recommend for a pain-free and highly competent top-shelf service. Well done team! I really look forward to developing our partnership further.
FAQs
The Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award (SCHADS), MA000100, covers most NDIS support workers.
Moreover, payroll outsourcing ensures increased security and compliance. By entrusting sensitive employee data to professionals, businesses can maintain data privacy and comply with Australian laws, mitigating the risk of data breaches and reputational damage.
Yes, our NDIS payroll process is built specifically to interpret SCHADS shift types correctly, including sleepovers, broken shifts and all applicable penalty rates.
Yes, casual support workers are entitled to the superannuation guarantee on their ordinary time earnings, the same as permanent staff.
As the employer, legal responsibility to Fair Work and the ATO stays with you, even when NDIS payroll is outsourced. We do the work and reduce your risk, but the obligation remains yours.
Yes, we can work alongside most existing rostering and payroll NDIS systems, or help transition you to a better-suited solution.
In-house payroll can suit larger providers with dedicated payroll staff who already have deep SCHADS expertise. For most growing or small to medium providers, outsourcing reduces both cost and compliance risk.
Call us for a free initial consultation