Self Manager Hub Workshop - What Should I Pay My NDIS Support Workers?

Presenters: Sheree Henley, Sam Paior, and Michaela Kennedy

Facilitator: Dr George Taleporos

Delivery: Online via Zoom (live captioning available)

One of the most common questions we hear in the Self Manager Hub community is: What should I pay my support workers?

It can feel tricky working this out on your own — the award, NDIS price limits, and different employment arrangements can all be confusing. We want to do the right thing by our workers while also making sure our funding goes as far as possible.

In this workshop, we will share experiences, tips, and resources so no one has to figure it out alone. Together we’ll unpack the award, talk through real-life examples, and explore different approaches, so that everyone leaves with more confidence and clarity about pay and what it means for us as self-managers and people who self-direct our support. The workshop will be relevant to people who engage contractors as well as those who directly employ or have set up their own service for one.

In this workshop we will

Discuss the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services (SCHADS) Award and how it relates to paying support workers.

Learn about the different factors that influence pay, including experience, qualifications, skills, knowledge, complexity of work, duties, time of day, weekends, public holidays, and overtime.

Explore different employment arrangements (casual, part-time, contractor) and how they affect pay rates.

Help you to think about what to think about what to include in your service agreements.

Talk through how NDIS price limits relate to the different employment and plan management arrangements.

Share ideas about broader considerations, such as fairness and valuing good workers.

Learn from each other about other ways of attracting and keeping good support workers beyond just pay rates.

Develop strategies for having tricky conversations about pay and what to do if workers are asking for more than you can offer.

Leave with the knowledge, resources, and tools — and peer connections — to help set rates with confidence.

Who Should Come?

NDIS participants and families who self-direct their support and who directly engage independent support workers, or who directly employ support workers, or who have their own NDIS support service (often called a service for one).

Please note: This workshop is for peer support, education, and information sharing. It is not legal or professional advice. We encourage you to get that advice, and can provide some tips on how to get help.

Want to support our work?

This event is free, but please support our work by subscribing to www.selfmanagerhub.org.au, a resource-rich platform for managing your NDIS funding. Subscriptions can be claimed back under your core budget.