Support Worker Pay Rates and Award Changes 2026: What Providers Need to Budget For

Support worker wage costs changed from 1 July 2026, with minimum rates under the SCHADS Award increasing by 4.75%.

For NDIS providers employing workers under the Award, it's worth checking that your payroll, pricing and budgets have all been updated — particularly with other payroll changes taking effect at the same time.

What changed under the SCHADS Award?

The Fair Work Commission's 2025–26 Annual Wage Review increased modern award minimum wage rates by 4.75%.

The new rates apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.

For providers, that means reviewing each employee's classification and pay point under the SCHADS Award rather than applying a single support worker rate across your workforce.

Remember that the minimum rate is only part of your overall employment cost. Depending on the employee and shifts being worked, you may also need to account for penalty rates, casual loading, allowances, superannuation and other employment costs.

What happened to NDIS pricing?

NDIS pricing also changed from 1 July 2026.

The NDIA released its 2026–27 NDIS Pricing Schedule, which provides current pricing guidance for NDIS supports.

The 2026–27 Annual Pricing Review incorporated the Fair Work Commission's minimum-wage increase into pricing for supports determined through the Disability Support Worker Cost Model.

That doesn't mean every provider's costs and margins will move in exactly the same way.

Providers should compare their actual workforce costs against the prices they charge for each support rather than assuming an NDIS pricing adjustment automatically covers every increase in operating costs.

Payday Super has also started

Another important change from 1 July 2026 is Payday Super.

Employers are now required to make superannuation contributions on payday, with contributions generally required to reach the employee's super fund within seven business days.

While this doesn't increase the Super Guarantee rate itself, it changes the timing of payments and may affect cash flow and payroll processes.

Providers should check that their payroll software, clearing house and internal processes are set up for the new requirements.

What should providers check now?

• Confirm workers are being paid correctly for their SCHADS Award classification and pay point.
• Check penalty rates, allowances, casual loading and other applicable entitlements.
• Review the current NDIS Pricing Schedule and compare it with the prices you're actually charging.
• Model your real cost per support hour rather than looking at the base wage alone.
• Check your payroll processes are correctly handling Payday Super.
• Review cash flow and operating costs to understand where your margins currently sit.

Don't forget about capacity

Keeping an eye on costs is important, but so is making sure people can find your services when you have capacity available.

If you're looking to take on new participants, review your MySolas provider profile and make sure your services, locations and current capacity are accurate.

You can also explore MySolas Careers if recruitment is part of your workforce planning.

Staying on top of both sides — what it costs to deliver supports and how you're building sustainable demand for your services — gives you a clearer picture of where your business stands.