NDIS sleepover & overnight support rates 2025-26
The same night of support can cost $297.60 or $630+ depending on how it is claimed. How sleepovers and active overnights are priced, what the flat rate includes, the extra-hours rule, and a practical test for choosing the right model.
Overnight support is where NDIS budgets are won and lost. The same night of support can cost $297.60 or more than $630 depending on which of the two overnight models it is claimed under — and over a year of every-night support, that gap grows to more than $120,000. This guide explains both models, what each one actually buys, and how to work out which fits your situation.
As with all NDIS pricing, the figures here are maximum price limits from the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (PAPL) 2025–26, the version in effect from 24 November 2025, for the standard geographic area. Providers can charge less, but not more.
The two overnight models — and what each costs
| Overnight model | Max price (2025–26) |
|---|---|
| Sleepover (inactive overnight) — worker sleeps on site, flat per night | ~$297.60 |
| Active overnight — weekday night, standard intensity, per hour | $78.81 |
| Active overnight — weekday night, high intensity, per hour | $85.27 |
| Active hours on a Saturday (any time of day), per hour | $98.83 |
| Active hours on a Sunday, per hour | $127.43 |
| Active hours on a public holiday, per hour | $156.03 |
National / standard-area price limits, 2025–26 PAPL (v1.1, in effect 24 November 2025). On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays the day’s rate applies around the clock — there is no separate “weekend night” rate. Remote areas attract a 40% loading and very remote areas 50%.
A sleepover is for nights when a worker needs to be there, but not awake — on hand if something happens. An active overnight is for nights when a worker is awake and working for most of the shift. They are claimed under different line items, at very different prices, and the right one is a clinical and practical question, not just a billing choice.
Sleepovers: what the flat rate includes
The sleepover price (about $297.60 for the night) is a flat amount, not an hourly rate. It covers the worker staying overnight — typically an eight-hour window with somewhere to sleep — and it includes up to two hours of active support during the night. If you need help transferring at 11pm and again at 5am, and each takes 20 minutes, that is all inside the flat rate.
Where invoices get interesting is the third hour. Time beyond the included two hours is claimed on top of the sleepover rate — and not at the ordinary night rate. On a weekday night the extra active hours bill at the Saturday rate ($98.83/hr); on a weekend or public-holiday night they bill at that day’s rate (up to $156.03/hr on a public holiday).
One practical check worth making on any sleepover invoice: the extra active hours should be itemised separately from the flat rate, with times. If an invoice just shows a larger round number for “overnight support”, ask for the breakdown — you are entitled to it.
Active overnights: when awake support is the right call
An active overnight is billed by the hour at the weekday night rate of $78.81 (standard intensity), with the weekend and public-holiday rates above applying on those days. If your support needs meet the high-intensity descriptors — supports like complex bowel care, ventilator management or severe dysphagia that need a worker with specific training — the high-intensity night rate is $85.27/hr.
An eight-hour active weekday night runs to $630.48 (standard) — more than double a sleepover. Across a full year of every-night support, the two models are roughly $108,600 (sleepover) versus $230,100 (active): a $120,000-plus difference for the same number of nights. This is why the model is one of the first things the NDIA looks at in plans with overnight support, and why it gets close attention in supported independent living (SIL) quotes.
Active overnight is the right model when the support is genuinely active: regular repositioning through the night, seizure monitoring that requires a worker to be awake, active behaviour support, or medical supports on a schedule. If a worker is being woken more than two hours’ worth most nights, you are already paying sleepover-plus-extras pricing for what is functionally an active shift — with a worker doing night work on broken sleep. At that point the active model is usually both safer and more honest.
Choosing between them — a practical test
Three questions settle most cases:
- How often is the worker actually needed? Rarely or unpredictably → sleepover. Most nights, for more than two hours in total → active.
- Does the support require the worker to be awake to deliver it safely? Monitoring that cannot be done from a sleeping start (continuous seizure observation, scheduled clinical supports) → active. Responding when called or woken by equipment alarms → usually sleepover.
- What does the pattern of the last month look like? Ask the provider for the active-time records from recent sleepovers. Two hours-plus of logged active support on most nights is the practical threshold where the models cross over.
The model is agreed in your service agreement and should match what is in your plan. If your needs change — in either direction — the model can change too: this is a conversation with your provider and, if the budget no longer fits, grounds for a plan reassessment. Your support coordinator or plan manager can run the numbers with you.
Overnight support in SIL and SDA settings
If you live in specialist disability accommodation or receive supported independent living (SIL) funding, overnight support usually arrives differently: the SIL provider submits a roster of care for the whole household, and overnight cover (a sleepover or an active night shift, often shared across residents) is built into the SIL quote rather than appearing as individual line items on your invoices. The same two models and the same economics still sit underneath — a house that moves from a shared sleepover to a dedicated active night shift adds six figures a year to its collective cost — but the negotiation happens at the roster level.
Two things still worth checking as a SIL resident: how many residents the overnight worker is shared across (it affects both cost share and response time), and whether the roster’s overnight model matches what actually happens in the house. Roster-versus-reality gaps are one of the most common findings when SIL plans are reassessed.
The other charges that ride along on overnight invoices
Overnight supports attract the same incidental charges as day shifts, and they are worth recognising:
- Worker travel time can be claimed up to a cap (generally 30 minutes in metro and regional areas, 60 minutes remote) at the same hourly rate as the support, plus vehicle running costs around $0.99/km for an ordinary vehicle. Note the 50%-of-rate travel rule you may have read about applies to therapists and allied health, not support workers.
- Short-notice cancellation: cancel an overnight shift with less than 7 clear days’ notice and the provider may claim up to 100% of the agreed price. With sleepovers near $300 a night, late cancellations are expensive — build travel plans and hospital stays into your provider communication early.
- Public holiday surprises: the night that starts on the evening before a public holiday can cross into holiday rates at midnight. Providers should split the claim at the boundary; itemised invoices make this visible.
To check any line on an overnight invoice against the current limit, use the ProviderScout price guide — it covers every support category, including the overnight and weekend matrix.
How overnight support fits your plan
Overnight support-worker time is funded from your Core Supports budget (or via your SIL funding where applicable). Core is flexible, which cuts both ways: a cheaper overnight model frees real money for daytime supports, and an unexamined active-overnight arrangement can quietly absorb a third of a plan. Before a plan reassessment, it is worth arriving with the numbers: the model you use, the logged active time per night, and what you are asking for next year.
- Model your overnight costs against your Core budget with the budget calculator.
- See the full shift-rate matrix in the support worker rates guide.
- When you need providers who deliver overnight support, compare NDIS providers in your area — free, always.
How to verify this information
Overnight pricing has more moving parts than most supports, and the niche figures (the exact sleepover allowance, high-intensity variants) shift between pricing updates:
- The official source is the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits on ndis.gov.au — the current version took effect 24 November 2025.
- For the cent-precise sleepover and night line items, download the NDIS Support Catalogue spreadsheet from the same page and search “night-time sleepover” and “overnight”.
- The high-intensity skill requirements are set out by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
ProviderScout is an independent directory and is not affiliated with the NDIA. The NDIA’s published documents are always the authority; we publish these figures to help participants read invoices and plan budgets.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an NDIS sleepover cost in 2025-26?
A sleepover (inactive overnight support) is a flat rate of about $297.60 per night under the 2025-26 NDIS Pricing Arrangements, which includes up to two hours of active support during the night. Time beyond those two hours is claimed on top — at the Saturday rate ($98.83/hr) on weekday nights, or the relevant weekend or public-holiday rate on those days.
What is the NDIS active overnight rate?
An active overnight shift on a weekday is billed hourly at $78.81 for a standard support worker, or $85.27 where high-intensity supports apply, under the 2025-26 price limits. On Saturdays ($98.83), Sundays ($127.43) and public holidays ($156.03) the day’s rate applies around the clock — there is no separate weekend night rate.
What happens if the support worker is woken up during a sleepover?
The flat sleepover rate already includes up to two hours of active support, so occasional help during the night costs nothing extra. Beyond two hours, additional active time is claimed on top of the flat rate — at the Saturday rate on weekday nights, or that day’s rate on weekends and public holidays. If a worker is regularly active for more than two hours a night, it may be time to move to an active overnight model.
Should I use a sleepover or an active overnight shift?
Use a sleepover when overnight support is mostly precautionary — a worker on hand, woken occasionally. Use an active overnight when support is genuinely delivered through the night: regular repositioning, awake monitoring, scheduled clinical supports. The practical threshold is around two hours of active support on most nights; past that, sleepover-plus-extras pricing approaches active-shift cost anyway, with a worker doing night work on broken sleep.
How much more does active overnight support cost than a sleepover?
Roughly double or more. An eight-hour active weekday night is $630.48 (8 × $78.81) against about $297.60 for a sleepover. Run every night for a year, that is roughly $230,100 versus $108,600 — a difference of more than $120,000, which is why the overnight model gets close NDIA attention in plans and SIL quotes.
Is overnight support funded from my Core budget?
Yes — overnight support-worker time comes from Core Supports, the most flexible budget category. The exception is participants with supported independent living (SIL) funding, where overnight cover is built into the SIL provider’s roster of care for the household rather than billed as individual line items.