How a sleepover works
In the NDIS Pricing Arrangements, sleepovers are called night time sleepover supports. The worker is at your home, which can be a private home or a group home, for a continuous period of 8 hours that starts before midnight and finishes after midnight. They can sleep, but they are there to help when you need it, for example to go to the bathroom, reposition you or settle you after a bad dream.
Sleepovers suit people who need someone close by overnight for safety or occasional help, but who usually sleep through most of the night.
What it costs
The sleepover is priced per night, not per hour. For 2026/27, the price limit for a night time sleepover is $311.79 in most of Australia, with higher limits in remote and very remote areas. The same price applies to sleepovers for self care at home, in Supported Independent Living and in short term accommodation.
The flat price includes up to 2 hours of active support during the sleepover. If the worker is regularly awake supporting you for longer than that, the support may need to be funded differently.
Sleepover or active overnight?
The NDIS Commission is clear that sleepovers are different from active overnight support:
- Sleepover: the worker sleeps and provides up to 2 hours of active support when needed
- Active overnight: the worker stays awake during normal sleeping hours because you need support through the night, funded for people who need more than 2 hours of support overnight
When your night time needs change
If workers are routinely awake for more than 2 hours a night, you and your provider should contact the NDIA about whether your plan needs to change. The NDIS Commission also says providers should monitor sleep patterns and, if you are regularly waking or your sleep changes, work with professionals such as an occupational therapist to review whether you need active overnight support.
Keep a simple log of how often you wake and what help you needed. It is useful evidence for a plan variation or reassessment.
For providers and workers
What a worker is paid for a sleepover, and for any work during it, is set by the SCHADS Award, not the NDIS price. The Fair Work Commission changed the award's sleepover rules from a worker's first full pay period starting on or after 1 June 2026, covering ordinary hours, breaks between rostered work, and shift allowances and penalty rates. The sleepover and any hours worked immediately before and after it are counted as one continuous shift.
Providers and participants who engage their own workers must provide a safe working environment overnight, as far as reasonably practicable. If a participant has a behaviour support plan, workers should follow it during the sleepover.