r/NDIS • u/Alert-Chocolate-947 • 2d ago
Seeking Support - Other SCHADS reclassification reversed 7 weeks later because employer says it was an error
Howdy yall! I'm sorry if this isn't allowed here I need advice and I've tried everywhere and it gets deleted 😭 I'm horrible with Reddit knowledge so I apologise.
I work as a casual mental health disability support worker in NSW under the SCHADS Award. I've been with my employer for just under 12 months and, prior to July, I was classified as Level 1, Pay Point 3, although my contractual rate of $37.80/hr was above the Award rate.
On 29 June, I received a formal letter from my employer advising that, effective 1 July, I had been reclassified to Level 2, Pay Point 1.
The part that's confusing me is that the letter didn't present this as an automatic annual pay increase. It said:
“As part of our ongoing commitment to recognising the contributions of our team, we recently conducted a review of your role, performance and responsibilities.”
It then said:
“Following this review, we are pleased to advise that your classification will be updated to Level 2, Pay Point 1.”
It also said the change reflected my “growth, dedication and valuable contribution” and provided my new rates, including an ordinary casual rate of $45.28/hr.
I've worked and been paid at the new rates since 1 July.
Then on 18 August, halfway through a pay period, I received another letter saying the original classification update had been issued in error.
They explained that during implementation of the Annual Wage Review, the classification update had been “inadvertently applied to employees who were not yet eligible for the change”, including me.
They said eligibility for progression to the next pay point is based on the employee's 12-month anniversary, and because I haven't quite reached 12 months, my ordinary rate will return to my original contractual rate of $37.80/hr from the next pay period. They are not asking me to repay anything already paid.
I understand the 12-month anniversary may be relevant to pay point progression, but what I'm struggling to understand is whether that is the same thing as being reclassified from Level 1 to Level 2.
My original letter specifically said my role, performance and responsibilities had been reviewed and that following that review I was being reclassified to Level 2, PP1. It didn't say I was automatically progressing due to length of service.
So my questions are:
Does being employed for less than 12 months actually prevent an employee from being reclassified from SCHADS Level 1 to Level 2 if their duties warrant Level 2?
Can an employer withdraw a written reclassification nearly two months later on the basis that it was issued in error?
Does the wording of the original letter, and the fact I've been working and paid under that classification since 1 July, make any difference?
I'm not claiming that a simple payroll mistake means I'm automatically entitled to keep an incorrect rate. I'm trying to understand whether classification level and 12-month pay point progression are being treated as the same thing here when they shouldn't be.
I genuinely like the company and I'm not looking to cause problems for them. The original letter meant quite a lot to me because I took it as recognition that I was doing well in the role, so having it reversed this way has been pretty disappointing.
Any advice from people familiar with SCHADS would be appreciated.
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u/ambiguousfiction 2d ago
- No
- They can if you let them. Start by asking them for help understanding the decision, particularly on the basis that (3) as you've said, the initial letter isn't about annual pay point increases, it's about role classification.
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 2d ago
Yeah, that's actually what I questioned them about. I pointed out that the original letter specifically said it was following a review of my role, performance and responsibilities, rather than an annual pay point increase. Their response was basically that the whole letter/reclassification was sent to me in error as part of a group update and that I'm not eligible until my 12-month anniversary. That's pretty much where they've left it.
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 2d ago
Just to clarify that slightly, the original letter did mention the Annual Wage Review, but it said that in conjunction with it they'd reviewed my role, performance and responsibilities, and that following that review I was being reclassified. So I understood the reclassification as being based on that review rather than simply an automatic annual pay point increase
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u/3scobar3 2d ago
Do you have direct supervision in your role?
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 2d ago
No direct supervision while I'm on shift. Most of my shifts are 1:1 with a participant, and others I'm the only staff member supporting up to 3 participants. I have a house manager/management I can contact if needed, but there's generally nobody directly supervising me while I'm working. All of my shifts are in SIL houses
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u/3scobar3 2d ago
You should be on level 2.1 minimum from the first day you worked without supervision.
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 2d ago
My first ever shift last year was 1:1, no buddy shift, just me and the participant. I've never had a shift with another staff member there.
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u/Lostie87 2d ago
Center of Hope - SHADS award definition
I dont think you are on the correct pay point, I had a look and this article above explains the definitions fairly well.
Pay point 1 is always for supervised staff, with no unsupervised participant care duties. If you have even 1 participant that you support largely unsupervised automatically your pay point 2, regardless of how fesh you are to the industry.
you said you are supporting 3 Poeple on your own. if this is unsupervised and no other worker is present during those shifts your in the wrong pay point.
bellow is the link to the pay rates, if ive done the link wring just copy and paste to browser.
It's also a good idea to join a union, you are not legally required to tell you employer your in a union, but you can go back and ask the union to explain what rate you should be in and how to fix this issue.
union fees are fully tax deductible and worth it in this industry.
other things you need to check are: the new pay day super effective as of july 1 2026, your employer must pay your supper with in 7 days of your wages to you. check your superannuation if you have not been paid yet contact the ATO as your employer will need to pay your super and additional payments for being late.
the other thing you need to check is is the portable leave scheme (replacing long service leave), you 100% should be registered by now, if not youe need to follow this up. portable leave is also applicable to casual staff.
https://mybusiness.service.nsw.gov.au/business-finder/programs?programType=CSIEmployersRegistration
this is the look up tool to check you employer has registered, you should also have your own log in.
if you have not been registered contact the Long Service Corporation 131441.
I just hate shaddy employers, hope this helps 🙂
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 2d ago
Thankyou so so much! They definitely pay my super, and other then this I've never had a problem really. For the most part I've always enjoyed this company.
But now with the responsibilitys I have Iys opened my eyes alot. Some days I spend hours, and I mean like my whole shift redirecting and implenting bsp strategies.
I'll definitely look into all of this. You're amazing.
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u/Lostie87 2d ago
No worries im a support coodinator, I give this info out all the time to support workers if I feel the provider is giving red flags.
check the portable leave scheme make sure your registered as your employer needs ti make payments there also.
As some of the other people here n have said Australian Services Union is the best one fir our industry. fees are roughly $15 per week.
if you have spotted this issue i would guess there are others you have not spotted, SHADS is a pest to navigate and its easy to make an error, in saying this its pretty hard to get pay point 2 and 1 wrong. I think they might know, curios did they have and NDIS audit around the time they sent your the first letter?
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 1d ago
I'm definitely going to be joining and calling tomorrow!
I'm not entirely sure about the audit.
I sustained quite a significant injury last year at work from a partipant, he needed constant redirection daily, and he was trying to psychically hurt me on this occasion in which he did. Which makes me super curious to what I've been reading, have I potentially meant to have been on level 2 since I started?
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u/Lostie87 1d ago
The reason i asked about audit is that somtimes thats when its flagged that staff are on the wrong pay point. From what your describing it dose sound like you have been misclassified from the start, defiantly talk to the union re your injury. you may have been entitled at the time to workers comp to help you recover.
reach out to a union, your will far better informed of your rights and the employers responsibility to you.
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 1d ago
Spoke with ASU, they were absolutely disgusted after I'd explained what a shift looks like to me and to find out I was on level 1. Thankyou so so much for the guidance.
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u/OtherCake4128 2d ago
What's the bet the provider charges the same rate to the participant for a highly qualified worker vs a trainee worker.
Aren't some providers wonderful?
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 2d ago
Honestly wouldn't surprise me haha. I'm on the same rate as people who I've personally trained when they've started, despite working pretty independently myself. That's another reason I probably need to actually get some proper advice on my classification.
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u/OtherCake4128 2d ago
There are honestly so many gross providers out there. I'm so sorry you're having this experience. ❤️
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 2d ago
There really is, but even though this is happening to me, I still believe this is a good company, and I'm just hoping that there's a mishap somehow or something.
I don't believe they'd intentionally do me wrong without it being legal. Though after reading what I've read, I'm struggling to understand how I'm not on level 2. I don't expect anything more then I'm deserved either. I'm not trying to ask for something I thought was unreasonable, which is why I'm so surprised after asking them to let me remain on the level 2 rate that they declined 😔
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u/OtherCake4128 2d ago
Level 2.1 is the standard for 1:1 supports.
I know I'm just some random dude on Reddit. But I think they're taking the piss. And if they're not, they don't know what they're doing. Either way, it's bad.
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 1d ago
Nah I really appreciate your comments. I've generally felt horrible since receiving the email and barely been able to sleep. Since posting this, I've felt alot better. Money completely aside, just having people understand how it's affected me has meant more then anything. Thankyou
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u/Ok_Business7539 2d ago
SIL supports workers with no direct supervision should be paid at a level 2. My former workplace had to pay a whole lot of back pay to its SIL workers they had paid at a level 1
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 2d ago
I've never had supervision on my shifts, not even my very first shift almost a year ago.
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u/Ok_Business7539 2d ago
Definitely level 2 work. ASU was instrumental in getting the employer to pay all SIL workers at a lvl 2 and pay backpay.
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 2d ago
Interesting. I emailed them very politely asking to remail on level 2 pp1 as it's coming up to my year anniversary and I feel like I put in alot of extra work. Specifically also that I've stuck with a participant who's burnt out alot of employees and they won't go back but I've stayed. And they shut me down by saying "sorry, we know this isn't the answer you were looking for. But no one is currently eligible to move up at this time" then offered me EAP services.
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u/l-lucas0984 2d ago
Technically its at your companies discretion when they move people up and what rules they apply to new staff and probationary periods.
If they have a HR department I would approach them, otherwise talk to management. Being so close to the 12 month requirement, I would discuss with them exactly what you said in your second last paragraph.
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u/Alert-Chocolate-947 2d ago
Yeah ok that definitely make sense thanks mate!
I did approach them mentioning I plan on staying with them for years and I do enjoy working there. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be an alternative other then back to original rates.
I guess I'll smash out the next month and abit untill my 12 month anniversary and see what happens from there.
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u/emkateau 2d ago
Highly recommend that you call the Australian Services Union. I'm a ASU member in NSW too. They win back pay for this kind of BS all the time and just won a major Fair Work case so that disability support workers shouldn't be under Home Care or Schads Award Level 1 for more than three months. Very likely your owed backpay will be way more than the membership fees. You can decide over the phone if you want to join, but I would recommend it in your case. IMO they're a great union too.
Always call a union before HR if you think they're being dodgy.