NDIS business owners: What to know to legally & correctly hire a support worker
Hiring an employee can be challenging at the best of times but even more so in the NDIS sector where there are additional checks involved. As someone who works in this field, you are likely to already have your hands full navigating the everyday management of your work and those you manage, so knowing the legally correct way to hire a support worker is essential to get right. Get it wrong there are significant penalties and consequences that could have been avoided.
Hiring NDIS Support Workers or Contractors?
View our template contracts to give to:
If you are planning to employ an NDIS support worker on a permanent full time, part time or casual basis, this article is the right place to start. If you are looking to bring on a contractor or subcontractor rather than an employee, read this first.
In this article we’re going to take a close look at:
Why you may need to reconsider how you hire a support worker;
How to avoid having to back-pay staff; and
Other common issues that create headaches for service providers like you.
Permanent and casual employees
If you're reading this you may already have an idea of whether your next hire is going to be in a full time, part time or casual capacity. While this may seem straightforward, the reality is that hiring a casual employee is not always as simple as most of us believe. That is, in part, because there were some changes made to legislation to better protect casual employees.
Below is what you need to know to make sure you’re doing the right thing by your employees and your business, and avoid an investigation by Fair Work Australia or the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
Permanent |
Casual |
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Permanent support workers have guaranteed hours:
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Casual support workers do not have guaranteed hours:
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Permanent support workers receive a lower hourly rate of pay than a casual employee due to:
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Casual support workers are paid a higher hourly rate than a permanent employee because:
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Permanent support workers must be paid superannuation at a rate dictated by Australian law. the date of publishing, the rate is 10.5% and is set to increase by 0.5% each year until 2025 when it will stabilise at 12%. |
Casual support workers must be paid superannuation at a rate dictated by Australian law. At the date of publishing, the rate is 10.5%and is set to increase by 0.5% each year until 2025 when it will stabilise at 12%. |
The Fair Work Act outlines the entitlements of each different category of employee, as well as the employer.
Getting the classification right when you hire a support worker
If a casual employee has a pattern of regular hours and has been with the employer for at least 12 months, they may be entitled to something known as a “casual conversion”. For example, if your casual employee is found to have regular shifts or hours each week or a weekly routine, for the past 6 to 12 months or more, then they will be entitled to permanent employee entitlements like those listed above.
This does not happen as the clock ticks over the 12 month mark, there needs to be certain criteria that are met. This includes that your employee wants to be made a permanent employee. If you wish or need to move an employee to a permanent position, and they wish for this change to be made as well, then this will need to be documented.
A change from casual support worker to permanent part- or full time support worker will result in a reduced hourly wage, however they will have access to sick and annual leave, amongst other entitlements such as the domestic violence leave.
Importantly, there is a difference with small business employers and larger employers with regard to your obligations around moving an employee to permanent. You should research this with Fair Work Australia, depending on the size of your business, as to your obligations.
Getting the Award right
With over 100 Awards in Australia regulating industries and occupations, it can feel daunting to realise that responsibility for fair payment of your employees sits with you. Getting it right is important, you don’t want to find yourself in the predicament of having to back pay wages and super. However, it doesn’t need to be a difficult exercise.
The Fair Work Act includes all of the various Awards however here is a handy list of Awards that are commonly used for roles associated with the NDIS:
Getting the Award right ensures that you, as the employer, are compliant with the National Employment Standards (NES). Paying the correct rate for the hours of work, rostering your staff correctly and paying accurate penalty rates and overtime will all fall under the guide of the corresponding award. Our employment contract templates step you through the details you need to know in order to be confident you have a secure contract.
NDIS-specific employment contract needs
While employment contracts often have a number of similarities, there are certainly some elements that are unique to certain fields of employment. NDIS support workers must go through a screening check (NDISWC), conducted by the Worker Screening Unit in each state and territory. Below are the links for each state and territory for your convenience:
Your contract of employment, regardless of whether it’s casual or permanent, should outline that the screening is to have been finalised prior to the employment agreement becoming binding. Both of our NDIS contract templates (permanent employment contract and casual employment contract) contain a clause stating that the employment is subject to the employee returning an Acceptable Check under the guidelines on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Worker Screening - Practice Standard) Rules 2018.
This is one way to be assured that you will not find yourself with an employee with missing pre-employment checks.
Contracts for NDIS support workers must also include clauses that specify conditions and expectations for in-home care and care on outings. For example, detailing activities such as grocery shopping, social events or physical activities. It also must include specific details such as safe lifting and supporting clients with limited mobility. These would be added to the position duties in the relevant employment contract.
Your contracts for employees should protect you, the employee and your clients. And, as you will likely be aware, you must also ensure you keep your employees up to date with professional development and training around any changes to policies and procedures and in relation to the NDIS, a requirement to support all parties.
Our employee contract templates include sections for you to add the appropriate employee details as well as other extra considerations that may apply to particular employees. For example, this may include the need to use their own funds when out with clients (with reimbursement later) and driving clients in their personal cars. It also includes non-solicitation and confidentiality clauses to ensure your employees do not poach clients for themselves or share private or confidential information about the client or your business if they decide to later leave your employment.
Where to from here?
Having an employment contract specific to the needs of NDIS support workers is critical, whether you are employing casual or full time or part time permanent employees. When you hire a support worker, if you omit details unique to what employees do in the delivery of their support work, it opens your business up to significant penalties and challenges.
To avoid a mismatch in client expectations, to avoid employees working outside of their skillset or capacity, and to minimise the risk of an investigation, penalties or having to back pay, save this article with its helpful links for future reference. Ensuring your new hires are employed with contracts that match the specificity of the role will protect your business in both the short and longer term.
Related articles: What to know before hiring NDIS contractors & subcontractors
NDIS Support Worker Service Agreement essentials
Our employee agreement templates include not just the usual sections common to most industries but also considerations specific to the needs of NDIS support worker businesses, employees and clients. Purchase the agreement that you need for your casual and permanent employees. You can find our Casual NDIS Support Worker Employment Contract here and our Permanent (full time or part time) NDIS Support Worker Employment Contract here.
And if it’s a contractor or subcontractor agreement you need, find that template here.