When supported independent living is part of a plan, families often hear unfamiliar terms almost straight away: roster of care, ratios, sleepovers, active overnight, irregular support, high intensity. These words describe how support in the home is planned and funded, yet they are rarely explained in plain language.
Understanding them matters. The roster of care shapes who is in the home, at what times and how much one-to-one help a resident receives. For families exploring SIL Brisbane options, knowing how the roster works makes it far easier to compare homes, ask good questions and spot when support no longer matches a resident’s needs.
This guide explains the building blocks of a roster, what shapes support in a shared home and the questions to ask before you agree to anything.
What a Roster of Care Actually Is
According to the NDIA’s supported independent living guideline, a roster of care describes the supports a resident can receive from their provider in an ordinary week. It sets out daily support hours, the support ratio, the intensity of support, the type of overnight support and the amount of irregular support. Your provider can give you a copy of the roster at any time.
It is worth knowing what the roster is not. It describes the support a resident receives, not the amount of funding in their plan. Funding is based on the resident’s assessed needs, and providers can only charge for supports they deliver and have agreed in the service agreement, within the maximum prices set in the NDIS pricing schedule.
The Building Blocks of a Roster
Every roster is made up of the same core elements. Understanding each one helps you see how SIL support Brisbane residents receive is put together, and where it can be adjusted.
- Daily support hours.The roster shows how many hours of support are provided across an ordinary day and week, including weekends. It should reflect the resident’s real routine, such as when they wake, go to work or a day program, and come home.
- Shared and individual support.Most residents share some support with housemates, for example when one worker supports two people during a quiet afternoon. The NDIA may fund individual, one-to-one support where a resident has life-threatening health needs, frequent high-risk behaviours or quickly changing needs.
- Support ratios.Ratios describe how many workers support how many residents at a given time. One worker supporting two residents is a ratio of one to two, while two workers supporting four residents is two to four. Ratios often change across the day as activities and needs change.
- Support intensity.Most people receive standard intensity support. High intensity support applies when workers need extra qualifications and experience, usually because a resident needs continual active support, such as for complex health or behaviour needs.
- Overnight support.If a resident needs up to two hours of awake support overnight, the NDIA funds it as a sleepover, where a worker sleeps at the home and wakes when needed. Where awake support is needed more regularly, it is funded as active overnight support, with a worker awake throughout the night.
- Irregular support.Sometimes residents need extra support unexpectedly, such as staying home when unwell. The NDIA initially funds up to 10 days a year of irregular support for standard needs and 15 days for high intensity needs, and more can be requested if unexpected situations arise.
- Public holidays.SIL funding includes an average of 12 public holidays a year, so support on these days is accounted for in the budget rather than coming as a surprise.
What the Roster Covers and What It Does Not
A roster of care describes the support workers provide in the home. That support can include personal care, help with daily tasks, building living skills, supervision and implementing behaviour support strategies.
It does not cover the cost of living. According to the NDIA, SIL does not fund day-to-day living costs such as groceries, rent or board, utilities and vehicle costs, or holiday expenses. It does not fund the housing itself, apart from specialist disability accommodation, which is a separate payment. Supports that belong to other systems, such as hospital care and clinical health services, also sit outside SIL. Regular community access is funded separately in a plan rather than through the SIL roster.
The NDIA also does not fund vacancies in shared homes. If a room is empty, providers should not increase costs for other residents or claim extra funding to cover it.
Registration Is Now Required for Every SIL Provider
Under current NDIS rules, every provider delivering supported independent living must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, whether the resident’s plan is NDIA-managed, plan-managed or self-managed. Registered SIL providers must also meet additional practice standards. You can check a provider’s registration on the Commission’s provider register before you agree to anything.
When Needs Change
A roster is not fixed forever. Health, skills and routines change, and support should change with them.
Small adjustments, such as moving a shift to match a new day program, can usually be made within existing funding. According to the NDIA, minor roster changes that fit within the plan do not need to be reported.
Bigger changes are different. If a resident’s support needs increase or decrease significantly, for example after a hospital stay, a new diagnosis or a big gain in independence, the NDIA should be told as soon as possible. A plan reassessment may be needed, and a new assessment of support needs may be requested. Keeping shift notes, incident records and reports from health professionals makes it much easier to explain what has changed.
Questions to Ask About a Roster
Whether you are comparing homes or reviewing an existing arrangement, these questions help you check that a roster genuinely fits the resident. A good SIL provider Brisbane families trust should be comfortable answering every one.
- Can we see the roster in writing? Ask for a copy that shows support hours, ratios and overnight arrangements across a typical week, including weekends. Families are entitled to understand how support is planned.
- Does it match the resident’s real routine? Check that wake-up times, meals, work or day programs, appointments and bedtime are reflected accurately. A roster built around staff convenience rather than resident routines is a warning sign.
- When is support shared and when is it one-to-one? Ask which hours are shared with housemates and which are individual, and how workers manage when two residents need help at the same time.
- How does overnight support work? Confirm whether overnight support is a sleepover or active overnight, and what happens if a resident needs help more often during the night than expected.
- Who are the workers and how are they trained? Ask about the core team, how consistent staffing is and what training workers have for the resident’s specific needs, such as medication, complex health tasks or behaviour support.
- How is irregular support used and recorded? Ask how days when a resident stays home unexpectedly are managed, and how the provider tracks the use of irregular support across the year.
- How will changes be handled? Ask how often the roster is reviewed, how families can request changes and what evidence the provider will help gather if a plan reassessment is needed.
How Royalty Healthcare Plans Support in Our Homes
Royalty Healthcare (ABN 35 654 251 519) is a registered NDIS provider certified by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and has supported participants since 2019. From our office in Strathpine, we support residents in homes across Brisbane’s north, south, east and west, through Moreton Bay and in Ipswich and Logan.
We design each roster around the resident’s lifestyle, sleep patterns and goals, with support levels guided by what their plan funds. That can range from a few hours a day to around-the-clock care, including shared support, one-to-one homes, active overnight support and sleepover arrangements. Most homes give each resident a private bedroom, often with their own bathroom.
Our support workers are trained in disability, mental health and trauma-informed care, and our team includes registered nurses and behaviour support practitioners.
Final Thoughts
A roster of care is more than a timetable. It sets out who supports a resident, when and how, and it shapes everyday life in a shared home. Ask to see it, check it against the resident’s real routine, understand what is shared and what is individual, and make sure overnight and irregular support match their needs. Clear, honest conversations about the roster are one of the best ways to make supported living work well over the long term.
Disclaimer: This article provides general information about the NDIS and is not personal, legal or financial advice. SIL rules and pricing can change, so check current information at ndis.gov.au or speak with the NDIA or your support coordinator about your individual plan.