# Support Tasks

Source: https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/shift-tasks

> Attach checklist tasks to supports for workers to complete during a shift.

Scheduling add-on - This feature requires the Scheduling add-on, which is available on Astalty Premium. See How to enable Scheduling.

## Overview

Support (or Shift) Tasks are checklist items that can be attached to supports (both individual and group supports). They represent specific tasks or actions that Support Workers need to complete during a shift - for example, medication checks, care plan reviews, incident reports, or any other activity that needs to be tracked.

Each task has a **name**, an optional **description**, and a **requirement level** that is either **Mandatory** or **Optional**.

## How do they Work?

### Creating Tasks

Tasks are added when creating or editing a support:

1. **Individual Supports** - When creating or editing a support, there is a "**Tasks**" section where you can add one or more tasks. Each task needs a name and a requirement level (Mandatory or Optional). A description is optional.

- To add a task, click **"Add Task"** in the tasks section, fill in the details, and save the support.

![The support form with the Tasks section highlighted below Support Details, showing No tasks have been added yet and an arrow on the Add Task button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-task-1.png)

![The Tasks section of the support form with one task highlighted: Collect medication from pharmacy, Prescription will be ready at 10am and Requirement set to Mandatory, with an arrow on Add Task.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-task-2.png)

![The Tasks section of the support form highlighted with two tasks added, Collect medication from pharmacy as Mandatory and Support with grocery shopping as Optional, and an arrow on the Create button at the bottom of the form.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-3.png)

2. **Group Supports** - Works the same way, but you can also assign tasks to specific Participants within the group. Tasks can be set at the group level (visible to all) or at the individual Participant level.

- To add a task, click **"Add Task"** in the tasks section, fill in the details, (leave the Participants field as **All Participants** if the task relates to all Participants) and save the support.

![The group support form with the Tasks section highlighted below Group Support Details, showing No tasks have been added yet and an arrow on the Add Task button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-4.png)

![The Tasks section of the group support form with one task highlighted: Help Simone read the bus timetable, assigned to Simone Brakus in the Participants field with Requirement set to Optional, and an arrow on Add Task.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-5.png)

![The Tasks section of the group support form with three tasks, two assigned to Simone Brakus and Jean Keebler, and the Mandatory task Head count before leaving the hall with its Participants field highlighted and left as All Participants.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-6.png)

![The Tasks section of the group support form highlighted with three tasks added, and an arrow on the Create button at the bottom of the form.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-7.png)

### Recurring Supports

When you update tasks on a recurring support, Astalty opens an **Update Recurring Support** step before saving so you can choose exactly which supports in the series the change applies to.

![A support's Tasks tab listing Collect medication from pharmacy and Support with grocery shopping, both Not Completed, with an arrow on the Update Tasks button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-8.png)

![The Update Tasks window with a third Mandatory task, Record spending in Simone's budget book, highlighted below two existing tasks, and an arrow on the Update button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-9.png)

The current support is always updated. The remaining supports in the series are listed with their date and time, and you tick the future supports that should receive the same tasks:

- The current support is ticked by default and **cannot be unticked**. It is labelled **(Current)**, or **(Current - Past)** if that support has already finished.
- Only the current support and **future** supports are listed - dates earlier in the series are never changed.
- Use the checkbox in the table header to select every listed future support at once.
- Once you tick a future support, a counter (for example, *2 future supports selected*) confirms your selection, and the button reflects it - **Update 3 Supports**.

![The Update Recurring Support window listing the current support on Monday 02/11/2026 and the future supports in the series, with Thursday 05/11/2026 and Monday 09/11/2026 ticked, 2 future supports selected and an Update 3 Supports button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-update-recurring-support.png)

Where several of the listed dates fall on the same weekday, a **Select** dropdown appears above the table with **Every \[Weekday]** shortcuts - handy for applying tasks to every Monday in a long series without ticking each date one by one.

Future supports you leave unticked keep their existing tasks, so you can change the checklist for just the next few visits rather than rewriting the whole series.

> **Removing a task applies to the supports you tick**
>
> Removing a task from the list deletes it from the current support **and** from every future support you tick. Supports you leave unticked keep the task.

Support Goals and Documents use the same recurring picker. See [Support Goals and Documents](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/support-goals-and-documents).

**Group Supports**

Recurring group supports use the same picker, and you can update tasks at either level:

- **For everyone in the group** - open the group support, click **Update Tasks** on the Tasks tab for **All Participants**, and pick the future group supports to include.
- **For one Participant** - within the **Supports Involved** section, select the relevant Participant, click **Update Tasks**, enter the details, and click **Update**. The picker lists the future group supports in the series, and the change applies to that Participant's support only - other Participants in the group are unaffected.

![The Supports Involved section of a group support, with an arrow on Jean Keebler in the list below All Participants and the Tasks tab showing the group task Head count before leaving the hall as Not Completed.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-11.png)

![The Supports Involved section with Brice Morar selected and their assigned Support Worker Harriet Lawson shown, and an arrow on Update Tasks on an empty Tasks tab.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-12.png)

![The Update Tasks window for Brice Morar, with a new Mandatory task, Remind Brice to take his afternoon medication, highlighted and an arrow on the Update button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-13.png)

![The Supports Involved section with Brice Morar highlighted, an arrow on the Tasks tab, and the highlighted task list showing his new task as Not Completed.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-15.png)

### How Support Workers Complete Tasks

Support Workers see their tasks in the **mobile app** when viewing a shift:

![The Support Worker mobile app with a shift in progress and its action sheet open, showing Write Note, Report Unscheduled Travel, View Participant and Clock Out, with an arrow on View Shift.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/sw-tasks-1.png)

![The shift details screen in the mobile app for a shift in progress, with the Schedule Tasks row highlighted under Action Items showing 0 of 1 required and 1 optional.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/sw-shift-tasks-2.png)

![The Schedule Tasks screen in the mobile app listing two tasks, with the first tagged Mandatory.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/sw-shift-tasks-3.png)

- They can **complete** a task by tapping on it - this records who completed it and when.

![A task opened from Schedule Tasks in the mobile app, showing the Participant, task name, Mandatory requirement and description, with Mark Complete highlighted above Skip Task.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/sw-shift-task-5.png)

- They can **skip** a task, but they must provide a reason (at least 10 characters). This is important for accountability, especially for mandatory tasks.

![An Optional task opened in the mobile app with Skip Task highlighted below Mark Complete, while the task behind it in the list already shows Completed.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/sw-shift-tasks-11.png)

![The Skip Schedule Task screen in the mobile app with a reason entered in the highlighted Reason field, and an arrow on Skip Task.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/sw-shift-tasks-7.png)

- After a task has been completed or skipped, a later attempt keeps the saved status. A different worker is told who already completed or skipped it.
- If the same worker taps complete or skip again, the existing status stays in place.

![The Schedule Tasks screen in the mobile app with the Completed tag on one task and the Skipped tag on the other highlighted.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/sw-shift-tasks-8.png)

![A skipped task opened in the mobile app, showing the Participant, task, Optional requirement and description, followed by the Skipped Reason and Skipped At time.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/sw-shift-tasks-9.png)

## Important Points

1. **Mandatory tasks block clock-out** - The Support Worker must complete each mandatory task or skip it with a reason before clocking out. Optional tasks do not block clock-out.
2. **Mandatory task notifications** - Support Workers see their tasks when they open a shift in the mobile app. In addition, you can set up an [Incomplete Mandatory Task Notification](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/notifications/incomplete-mandatory-task-notifications) to alert your team when a shift is clocked out while a mandatory task is still incomplete.
3. **Skip reasons are required** - When a Support Worker skips a task, they must write a reason (minimum 10 characters). This cannot be bypassed.
4. **Already completed or skipped tasks** - A later complete or skip attempt keeps the saved result. The app refreshes the task list to show the current status.
5. **Tasks cannot be completed from the web app** - Task completion and skipping happens exclusively through the mobile app. The web app shows task statuses as read-only.
6. **Deleting tasks** - When editing a support's tasks, removing a task from the list and saving will permanently delete that task. On a recurring support, removed tasks are also deleted from each future support you tick in the **Update Recurring Support** step.
7. **Group support tasks** - For group supports, tasks can exist at two levels: on the group support itself (visible to all Participants) and on individual Participant supports. Support Workers see both when viewing their shift.

![The Schedule Tasks screen in the mobile app for a group support, with arrows on the Group Tasks heading and on a heading for each Participant above their own tasks.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/sw-shift-tasks-12.png)

## Viewing Task Status

**On a support**: Open any support and go to the **Tasks** tab to see the list of tasks and their completion status. You can view notes from Support Workers on skipped tasks by hovering over the **Not Completed** icon.

A task is either:

- **Completed** - Shown with a green indicator. Displays who completed it and when.
- **Not Completed** - Shown with a red indicator if the task is mandatory, or a grey indicator if optional. If the worker skipped it, the reason they provided is shown. Mandatory tasks that are not completed are highlighted more prominently to draw attention.

![A support's Tasks tab in the web app with an arrow on the Tasks tab and the task list highlighted, showing Collect medication from pharmacy as Completed in green and Support with grocery shopping as Not Completed in grey with a note icon.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-17.png)

![A support's Tasks tab with an arrow on a grey Not Completed status, and its highlighted tooltip showing 26/10/2026 11:47am, by Arlo Jones and the reason the task was skipped.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-tasks-16.png)

- **Support Tasks Report**: Select **Reports > Scheduling > Support Tasks**, or open the [Support Tasks report](https://app.astalty.com.au/reports/scheduling/support-tasks), to review tasks across all supports. See [Support Tasks Report](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/reports/support-tasks-report).
- **Support Tasks Export**: Use the [Support Tasks Export](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/exports/support-tasks-export) to download the same tasks as a CSV, so completion can be reported to stakeholders without pulling it together by hand.