NDIS Penalty Rates for Weekend, Evening and Public Holiday Shifts: The Complete Billing Guide
10 min read · Updated 15 October 2026 · Australia
Evening, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday shifts all have different NDIS price limits, and getting the split wrong is one of the fastest ways to get an invoice knocked back, or to quietly under-claim. This guide explains how NDIS penalty rates billing actually works for support workers, with the cut-off times and worked examples you need to invoice correctly.
Important: NDIS pricing and rules change. Figures and rules in this guide explain the structure — always verify current rates against the NDIS Pricing Schedule before invoicing. Rayvice is independent software and is not endorsed by the NDIS or NDIA.
Key takeaways
- The NDIS doesn't call them “penalty rates”. It sets different maximum price limits by time of day and day of week: weekday daytime, weekday evening, weekday night, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday.
- Evening and night loadings are weekday-only. Weekday evening runs from 8:00 pm to midnight. Saturday, Sunday and public holiday supports are charged at one flat rate for the whole day, with no separate evening rate.
- The rate follows when the support is delivered, not the shift pattern your employer or award uses. A support that crosses a rate boundary is normally billed as two or more separate supports.
- Rates are maximums. You can charge less than the price limit, never more, and Plan Managers can't pay invoices above it.
What are NDIS penalty and loading rates, and when do they apply?
The NDIA sets a maximum hourly price for each type of support. For standard disability support worker supports, that maximum changes depending on when you deliver the support. This is what most support workers mean by "penalty rates" or "loadings". These are the national price limits for standard supports (Assistance with Self-Care Activities) in metro and regional areas (MMM 1–5), from the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27.
Other support categories have their own item numbers. The codes below are for Assistance with Self-Care. Community participation, SIL and other categories use different codes, so always check the support item for the service you actually delivered in the NDIS Pricing Schedule or Support Catalogue. The NDIA updates the Pricing Schedule during the year — confirm current figures on the NDIS pricing arrangements page before invoicing.
- Weekday daytime — $73.58 per hour — 01_011_0107_1_1.
- Weekday evening — $81.07 per hour — 01_015_0107_1_1.
- Weekday night — $82.57 per hour — 01_002_0107_1_1.
- Saturday — $103.54 per hour — 01_013_0107_1_1.
- Sunday — $133.50 per hour — 01_014_0107_1_1.
- Public holiday — $163.46 per hour — 01_012_0107_1_1.
- Remote and very remote areas: price limits are 40% higher in remote areas (MMM 6) and 50% higher in very remote areas (MMM 7). For example, the Sunday limit rises from $133.50 to $186.90 and $200.25.
A price limit is not a pay rate
These figures are what you can bill for a support — they are not wages. If you employ workers, their pay is set by the relevant award or agreement. If you're a sole trader, you set your own rate, up to the limit, in your service agreement. Don't confuse the NDIS public holiday rate with the SCHADS Award public holiday pay rate for employees.
How shift cut-off times work
The NDIS defines each rate by clear time boundaries. For disability support workers, the rules are:
- Weekday daytime: starts at or after 6:00 am and ends at or before 8:00 pm on a single weekday.
- Weekday evening: starts at or after 8:00 pm and finishes at or before midnight on a single weekday.
- Weekday night: starts at or before midnight and finishes after midnight, or starts before 6:00 am and finishes the same weekday.
- Saturday: starts at or after midnight on the night before Saturday and ends at or before midnight of that Saturday.
- Sunday: starts at or after midnight on the night before Sunday and ends at or before midnight of that Sunday.
- Public holiday: starts at or after midnight on the night before the public holiday and ends at or before midnight of that public holiday.
The three rules that trip people up
- Weekends and public holidays are flat all day: there is no evening loading on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. A 9 pm Sunday support is charged at the Sunday rate, not an "evening" rate.
- Public holidays beat everything else: if a day is a public holiday, the public holiday rate applies for the whole day, even if the same hours would be evening on a normal weekday. Check which days are public holidays in the state or territory where you deliver the support.
- It's about the participant's support, not your roster: the applicable rate is based on when the support is provided to the participant, not on the worker's shift under an award.
What happens when a support crosses a boundary?
If a support does not fit inside one rate window (for example 6 pm to 10 pm on a weekday, or Saturday 9 pm to Sunday 1 am), the default is to bill it as two or more separate supports, each at its own rate.
The NDIS allows one exception: when a support crosses a shift boundary and the same worker delivers the whole support, the higher of the relevant price limits can apply to the entire support. You must discuss this billing arrangement with the participant first. Splitting is the safer default, and it keeps your invoice easy for a Plan Manager to check.
Sleepovers are different: a night-time sleepover (8 or more continuous hours across midnight, with the worker allowed to sleep) is a separate flat-rate support, not an hourly split. This guide covers hourly shifts only.
Quick shift rate calculator (by hand)
To calculate any shift manually:
- Identify the day: is it a public holiday, Saturday, Sunday or a normal weekday?
- If it's a weekend or public holiday, the whole day uses one rate. Multiply hours by that rate and you're done.
- If it is a weekday, mark where the shift crosses 6:00 am, 8:00 pm and midnight.
- Split the hours at each boundary and note which rate window each part falls in.
- Multiply each block by its rate, then add the blocks.
- Make one invoice line per block, with the right support item number and the exact time quantity.
Worked examples: how to split a shift
- Example 1 — Sunday 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm (no split needed): on a Sunday there is no evening loading, so 5 hours x $133.50 = $667.50 on one line. Billing 8–9 pm at the weekday evening rate would under-claim by $52.43 and mismatch the day of delivery.
- Example 2 — Friday 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm (a real split): 6–8 pm weekday daytime 2:00 x $73.58 = $147.16, plus 8–11 pm weekday evening 3:00 x $81.07 = $243.21. Total $390.37.
- Example 3 — Saturday 9:00 pm to Sunday 1:00 am (crossing midnight): Saturday 9 pm–midnight 3:00 x $103.54 = $310.62, plus Sunday midnight–1 am 1:00 x $133.50 = $133.50. Total $444.12. With advance agreement and the same worker throughout, the higher Sunday rate could apply to all 4 hours ($534.00) — without it, split the shift.
- Example 4 — Public holiday 10:00 am to 2:00 pm: the public holiday rate covers the whole day, so 4 hours x $163.46 = $653.84 on one line.
Why manual rate splitting causes invoice rejections
Plan Managers must make sure invoices don't exceed the NDIS price limit and that each claim matches the support actually delivered. Providers are responsible for claims that accurately reflect the support's type, volume and timing. When an error slips through, the Plan Manager rejects or queries the invoice, payment is delayed, and you lose hours to corrections. Under-claiming is just as costly because it's silent and nobody tells you. For the full list of what an invoice must include, see our NDIS invoice requirements guide (/resources/ndis-invoice-requirements).
- Wrong rate for the day: applying an evening rate on a Sunday, or a weekday rate on a public holiday.
- Missed boundaries: forgetting the 8:00 pm switch, the 6:00 am switch, or the midnight crossover between two days.
- Public holidays overlooked: public holidays differ by state and territory, and they're easy to miss when you're juggling a roster.
- One lump-sum line: combining different rate types into a single line leaves the Plan Manager unable to check it against the price limits.
- Wrong support item number: the rate and item number must match the day and time of delivery.
- Rate above the limit: a rate that was fine last financial year may now sit above, or well below, the current price limit.
- Arithmetic and rounding: minutes converted to decimals by hand drift quickly. A 45-minute block is 0:45 hours, not "about 1 hour".
Let Rayvice auto-split your NDIS shifts
Rayvice is NDIS invoicing software for independent support workers, and automatic shift rate splitting is its core job. For example, a Tuesday 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm shift becomes 2 hours of day rate and 2 hours of evening rate, each on its own line, with no calculator involved. Rayvice is independent software and is not endorsed by the NDIS or NDIA. Your service agreement still needs to set out your rates. Keep reading: NDIS support worker rates (/resources/ndis-support-worker-rates), how to send an NDIS invoice to a plan manager (/resources/how-to-send-ndis-invoice-to-plan-manager), NDIS travel billing guidelines (/resources/ndis-travel-billing).
- Log the shift in about 30 seconds: enter the date, start and end times, participant and support category.
- Rayvice splits the hours automatically into day, evening (from 8:00 pm), night (midnight–6am), Saturday, Sunday, public holiday and travel rates, based on the shift times you entered. No manual maths.
- It checks before the invoice exists: rates are checked against 2026 NDIA price caps, along with your ABN, BSB and the participant’s 9-digit NDIS ID.
- Send in one step: a tax-invoice PDF is emailed to the plan manager, and you can see whether it was delivered.
Common questions
What are the NDIS weekend, evening and public holiday rates for 2026-27?
For standard support worker supports in metro and regional areas, the maximum price limits are $73.58 per hour for weekday daytime, $81.07 for weekday evening, $82.57 for weekday night, $103.54 for Saturday, $133.50 for Sunday and $163.46 for public holidays. These are maximums, so you can charge less. Remote and very remote areas have 40% and 50% higher limits. Always confirm against the current NDIS Pricing Schedule.
Is there a Sunday evening rate in the NDIS?
No. For disability support workers, Sunday is one flat rate for the whole day, from midnight to midnight. The evening and night loadings apply to weekdays only. A shift from 4 pm to 9 pm on a Sunday is billed at the Sunday rate for all 5 hours.
What happens if my shift crosses a rate boundary, like 8 pm or midnight?
By default, split the shift into separate supports and bill each part at its own rate, for example weekday daytime until 8 pm and weekday evening after. The NDIS allows an exception: if the same worker delivers the whole support, the higher applicable price limit can apply to all of it, but you must discuss this with the participant first.
Do I charge the public holiday rate for the whole shift?
Yes, if the support falls entirely within the public holiday, from midnight to midnight, the public holiday rate applies for every hour, whether daytime or evening. Public holidays differ by state and territory, so check the calendar for where you deliver the support. If a shift runs past midnight into or out of a public holiday, split it at midnight.
Official sources
NDIS rules change. Verify current figures on these official pages before invoicing:
Put this into practice
Rayvice splits day, evening, weekend, public holiday and travel rates automatically, checks invoices against price caps, and emails the PDF to your Plan Manager. 9-day free trial, no credit card.