Adding a Sleepover or Active Overnight Support

Overview

Active Overnight and Sleepover supports are scheduled shifts that cross over midnight. These supports are set up in the scheduler in the same way as any other shift, but with the start and end times spanning two different days.

For Sleepovers, these supports may be scheduled in a variety of scenarios, such as:

• In-Home Supports

• Supported Independent Living (SIL) Supports

• Respite

This guide will cover off creating both types of overnight supports, and will help you decide which type to use based on the Participant's needs and how the Support Worker should be paid.

Understanding the Difference: Sleepover with Disturbances vs Scheduled Active Overnight

Before you create an overnight shift, it's important to choose the right type. The two scenarios below look similar on the surface but are paid and configured differently.

Sleepover with Disturbances

This is when the shift was scheduled as a Sleepover, but the Participant unexpectedly needed active support during the night. In this case, keep the Sleepover flag checked and record the active overnight period(s). The Support Worker correctly receives both the sleepover allowance and overtime for the active hours, which aligns with the SCHADS Award (clause 25.7). This applies whether the disturbance is 30 minutes or the entire night.

To record the disturbance, see Managing Active Overnight Periods below.

Scheduled Active Overnight

This is when a Participant's NDIS Plan has been changed because they consistently need someone awake all night providing continuous support. In this case, it's no longer a sleepover at all — it's a regular overnight shift. You would untick the This is a Night-time Sleepover Support box, and the Support Worker is paid regular hourly rates with applicable penalties (no sleepover allowance, since it's not a sleepover).

Steps to Create an Overnight Support (Active or Sleepover)

1. Go to the Scheduler

   • Open the Scheduler from the left-hand menu.

   • Click Add Shift.

2. Set the Time and Date

   • Enter the Start Time (e.g. 10:00 PM).

   • Enter the End Time (e.g. 6:00 AM the next day).

   • Make sure the dates cross midnight (the start date and end date should differ).

   • Sleepovers are required to be 8 hours in duration - e.g. Start 10:00 PM and End 6:00 AM

3. Sleepover vs Active Overnight

   • For a Sleepover Support, tick the This is a Night-time Sleepover Support box.

   • For a Scheduled Active Overnight, leave this box unticked.

4. Assign Details

   • Select the Support Type (e.g. In-Home Supports, Supported Independent Living, Respite, etc)

   • Select the Participant/s

   • Select a Support Worker.

   • Add any Support Details.

   • Add Admin Details if necessary.

5. Charges

   • For in-home supports, select the relevant Charge Item Set so the correct NDIS line items are applied when billing.

   • For Respite or SIL, consider using Direct Charges.

6. Create the Shift

   • Click Create to finalise the support.

Billing Active Overnight or Sleepover Supports

• For in-home supports, select the relevant Charge Item Set so the correct NDIS line items are applied when billing.

• For Respite or SIL, consider using Direct Charges.

For more information on how to set up and use direct charges, see: Direct Charges Guide

Viewing an Overnight Shift

• In Weekly View, the shift will appear across both days (e.g., 10:00 PM – 6:00 AM).

• In Daily View, navigate to the start date (e.g., 10th) to see the full shift displayed as an active overnight or sleepover.

Sleepover Duration Warning

If you tick This is a Night-time Sleepover Support but the shift duration doesn't meet the 8-hour requirement for a Sleepover under the SCHADS Award, Astalty will display a warning during shift creation. The warning lets you know that the entire shift will be treated as active support rather than as a Sleepover, and recommends creating separate supports if that wasn't your intention.

This catches a common configuration mistake — where supports delivered before or after the overnight period are bundled into the same shift. The warning ensures the shift is configured correctly so that billing and Support Worker pay reflect the actual support being delivered.

Example:

If you're delivering active support either side of a Sleepover — for example, a 4pm–10pm in-home support followed by a 10pm–6am Sleepover — create two separate shifts: one for the active support and one for the Sleepover. This ensures each component is charged and paid correctly.

Converting a Sleepover Shift to an Active Overnight Shift

Sometimes a support that was set up as a Sleepover needs to be changed to an Active Overnight shift instead. This is typically needed when:

• The Participant's NDIS Plan has been updated to fund active overnight support (rather than sleepover), or

• The shift was set up as a sleepover by mistake

This can be updated directly within the Support.

1. Open the Support and click Update Details.

2. Untick This is a Night-time Sleepover Support.

3. Enter a Reason for Change.

4. Click Update to save.

The shift will then be updated in full as an Active Overnight shift.

Managing Active Overnight Periods

Once a sleepover shift has been created, any time a worker is woken during the shift can be recorded as an Active Overnight Period.

What are Active Overnight Periods?

Active overnight periods capture time when a worker is awake and providing support during a sleepover.

• The Support Worker keeps the full sleepover allowance for the shift.

• All time spent awake and providing support is paid as overtime, on top of the allowance, in line with SCHADS clause 25.7.

• This applies whether the disturbance is 30 minutes or the entire night.

If a Participant regularly requires sustained active support overnight, consider reviewing the support type with the Participant and their NDIS planner.

Auto-Approval Settings

You can control how active overnight periods are approved:

1. Go to Scheduling Settings and click Edit

2. Scroll to Auto Approval

3. Enter a maximum duration for the Active Overnight Threshold. Click Update to save your changes.

How it works:

• 0 minutes — all periods require manual approval

• Above 0 minutes — periods up to the threshold are auto-approved

• Periods beyond the threshold require manual approval

Reviewing & Approving Active Overnight Periods

Active overnight periods appear in Shift Approvals:

• Select the shift and scroll to Active Overnight Periods

• Status indicators:

  • Approved — within auto-approval threshold

  • Pending — exceeds threshold and requires review

To review details:

1. Click the View Shift icon

2. Open the Active Overnight Periods notification

3. Review:

   • Start and finish times

   • Duration

   • Reason

   • Any supporting evidence (e.g. images)

     • To make changes, click on the three dots and select Edit, or Delete to remove the Active Overnight Period.

     • The Edit function allows you to amend the start and end times of the Active Overnight Period, Reason, and images.

A shift is only considered fully reviewed once all items (hours, travel, and active overnight periods) are approved.

Adding Active Overnight Periods

Schedulers can add active overnight periods in two ways:

From within the shift:

• Open the shift

• Select the Active Overnight Periods notification

• Click Add Active Overnight

From the shift menu:

• Click the three dots next to the worker’s shift

• Select Active Overnight Periods

Charging vs Paying (Key Difference)

It's important to understand the difference between what you charge the Participant and what you pay the Support Worker for an Active Overnight Period.

Participant Charging (NDIS):

• Charges to the Participant's plan follow the Charge Item Set assigned to the shift.

• Active overnight time may be billed against the relevant NDIS line items if the Participant's plan supports it.

Support Worker Pay (SCHADS):

• The Support Worker receives the full sleepover allowance for the shift.

• Any active overnight time is additionally paid as overtime in line with SCHADS clause 25.7 — regardless of duration.

• Overtime rates apply as prescribed by the award.

Billing rates for additional time:

• Weekdays (Mon–Fri): charged at the Saturday rate

• Saturday: charged at the Saturday rate

• Sunday: charged at the Sunday rate

• Public Holidays: charged at the Public Holiday rate

To see how Support Workers capture Active Overnight Periods in the app, view the guide here.

Video Overview - Creating an Active Overnight

The following video demonstrates how to set up an Active Overnight.

Video Overview - Creating a Sleepover

The following video provides an overview of how to schedule a sleepover support in Astalty.