A SIL house is not a list of visits. It is a home, with the same people living in it, the same faces coming through the door, a night that has to be covered every night, and a roster that looks almost identical from one week to the next. Software built around per-visit appointments can be pushed into running a house, but it fights you the whole way. You rebuild the same week by hand, you patch sleepovers on top, and you hope the right people land in the right home.
This guide is for owners and operations managers running NDIS Supported Independent Living houses. It explains how a house roster differs from a visit roster, what to demand from SIL software, and how seven platforms stack up: Astalty, BondiByte, Brevity, SupportAbility, ShiftCare, Lumary and CareMaster.
What makes SIL rostering different
A community support roster starts from the participant's appointments and asks who is free. A SIL roster starts from the house and asks who covers every shift, every day, including the night. That flips almost everything about how the software needs to work.
- The place is fixed. The home is the unit you roster, not the individual visit. Each house has its own team, its own routines and its own requirements.
- Overnight cover is built in. Someone has to be there at 2am, and it has to be someone suitable who is not running on empty.
- The faces matter. Residents do best with a consistent team, so continuity is a feature, not a nice extra.
- Sleepovers have a shape. A night is active hours, then the sleepover, then active hours again, and each part is treated differently for pay.
- The roster repeats. Mornings, days, evenings and nights come back week after week, so you want to build the pattern once and let it run.
If a platform cannot express those five things, you will be doing the work in spreadsheets on the side.
What to look for in SIL software
Use this checklist when you run demos and trials. Every item should be something you can see working in a real house, not just a slide.
- A weekly house pattern. Build the house roster once and have it generate future shifts, instead of rebuilding each fortnight.
- Sleepovers as a real shift shape. Active hours, sleepover and active hours again, carried through to timesheets without manual splitting.
- A house team, not a staff list. Regular, backup and relief staff tied to each home, so the right people are considered first.
- Rules per house. A home with overnight cover needs different swap, cancellation and clock-in rules from a day program or an office.
- Requirements checked against the shift. A shared house should be checked against what that house and that shift need, including expired evidence.
- Billing that follows the roster. What was rostered should flow into invoices and claim-ready data without retyping.
SIL software compared, one by one
Astalty
Astalty has a dedicated SIL page and it is one of the more detailed on the market. You build mornings, days, evenings and sleepovers into one weekly template per house, repeated up to a year ahead. Open shifts are filled from a list showing availability, preferences and clashes, and broken shifts, overtime and sleepover issues are flagged as you build. Group shift charges follow each participant's funded ratio, with per-participant overrides, and preset SIL charge items cover high-intensity and time-of-day billing. Weekly SIL lands in your invoice batch and stops at the plan end date.
For sleepovers, workers are paid for time awake, awake time over two hours creates a billable charge for approval, and workers log interruptions on their phone. Houses also get capacity, occupancy and vacancy views, routines and lockbox codes visible only to permitted staff, evacuation reports with expiry reminders, and a group chat per house. Pricing is per user with unlimited participants: $64 per standard user and $30 per support worker a month, GST inclusive, with a 14-day trial, no lock-in and no setup fees. Watch-out: Astalty's Sites feature is in beta and must be enabled on request.
BondiByte
BondiByte treats a SIL home as what it is: a supported independent living home with its own team, roster pattern and requirements. Each home runs as its own site record with linked participants, primary, secondary and relief teams, per-site capability requirements, and per-site rules for swaps, cancellations, open shifts and clock-in. Sleepovers are recorded as active hours, the sleepover, then active hours again, and delivered to timesheets already split. Smart Rostering can then turn the house pattern into draft rosters that a manager reviews and publishes, with the reasons for every recommendation on show. Every feature is on every plan, and the trial runs for 28 days. The deep dive is further down.
Brevity
Brevity's SIL page leans on funding admin. It allows you to import the NDIS Roster of Care template, tracks plan budgets by provider, and supports bulk claims with PRODA integration. That is a useful set for the claiming side of SIL. The SIL page does not describe sleepovers, house rosters, ratios or house teams, so the day-to-day roster of a home is not where it makes its case. Group Rostering and the SIL and Plan Management modules sit on the Business plan, at $6.49 per client a month ex GST, and a setup fee applies. Lite is $4.49 per client ex GST.
SupportAbility
SupportAbility speaks the language of shared living. Its SIL page describes managing shared living arrangements while balancing individual and group requirements, handling ratios from 1:1 to complex group activities, and replicating activities and rosters to match your Roster of Care. It covers active and inactive night shifts, claiming irregular SIL supports, multiple residential locations, and per-resident budgets with forecasting. Watch-out: pricing is not published. It is set by active staff brackets, the smallest being 30 staff, on an annual basis, which is worth knowing if you run a smaller provider.
ShiftCare
ShiftCare is a popular rostering tool, and its rostering page promotes custom rostering for clients in SIL houses and lists sleepover shifts under "24 hour care". Its help guide shows a SIL house set up as a Team named after the house. Watch-out: Teams are only available on the Pro or Premium plans. Pricing is per user ex GST: Professional at $13 annual or $15 monthly, Premium at $20 annual or $25 monthly, with a 5-staff minimum and a 7-day trial.
Lumary
Lumary describes itself as purpose-built for SIL, SDA, Support Coordination and community providers, and names SIL and SDA residential models. It is aimed at mid-to-large providers. Watch-out: there is no public pricing, so everything starts with a demo.
CareMaster
CareMaster is a general scheduling and rostering product with per-user pricing from $16 ex GST, with a minimum of 5 users. Its scheduling and rostering pages do not mention SIL, sleepovers or ratios. Access starts with a demo.
How BondiByte runs a SIL house
Here is what it looks like when a house is set up in BondiByte, from the first participant to the invoice.
The house is a site with its own rules
A quiet office does not need the same rules as a SIL home with overnight cover. Each site carries its own settings. A SIL home gets its own swap, cancellation, open shift and clock-in rules, while your community roster keeps its own. Participants are linked to the site with the right relationship: SIL, current residence, short stay or respite, day program, or community access. Staff join the primary, secondary or relief team, or are named site lead or coordinator. Requirements sit on the site and on each shift, so a shared house is checked against what that house and shift actually need.
Build the pattern from real shifts
You do not have to design a pattern from a blank form. Select real shifts on the roster board and save the shape. Site-scoped templates carry default times, staffing numbers and sleepover detail, and every generated shift inherits them. Overnight shifts that end the next day are handled properly. Need to change one night? Override that single night without touching the template.
Sleepovers that arrive on timesheets split
Overnight support has a shape: active hours, the sleepover, active hours again. BondiByte records that shape on shifts and site templates and delivers it to timesheets already split. Timesheets arrive as three components with the right pay treatment for each, using the rates from your own pay setup. Sleepovers also spread fairly across the team, at a priority you set per site, so the same two people do not end up carrying every night.
Smart Rostering, switched on house by house
Smart Rostering is switched on site by site, so a stable SIL house and a flexible community roster can run different settings. By default, shifts are created from the pattern about three weeks before the period. A draft roster is generated, a manager reviews it, then publishes. Auto-publish stays off unless you turn it on, per site.
- Critical conflicts are blocked first: leave, inactive status, double-booking, blocked time and full shifts.
- Five suitability checks follow: availability, requirements, site team, hours cap and compliance. Expired evidence does not count.
- Eleven ranking factors pick the best fit from there, including continuity, fatigue and fair spread.
- Every recommendation shows its reasons, so you can see why a worker was suggested and override with confidence.
Compliance and billing in the same place
The Audit Centre gives a live readiness score, with evidence mapped to the NDIS Practice Standards. Invoices are drafted from rostered shifts, and a bulk payment request CSV is produced in the NDIS layout. BondiByte prepares claim-ready data; it does not lodge claims with the NDIA directly.
One plan, every feature
Every feature is on every plan, and staff numbers are an allowance, not a cap. For a team of 10, the Starter plan works out at about $9.90 per staff member a month. The free trial is 28 days, long enough to run a house through a full roster cycle.
SIL software comparison table
| Feature | BondiByte | Astalty | Brevity | SupportAbility | ShiftCare | Lumary | CareMaster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly house roster from a pattern | Yes. Site templates and patterns built from real shifts | Yes. One weekly template per house, up to a year ahead | Imports the NDIS Roster of Care template | Replicates rosters to match Roster of Care | Custom rostering for SIL houses | Not detailed publicly | Not described |
| Sleepovers | Active, sleepover, active, delivered to timesheets split | Awake time paid, interruptions logged on phone | Not described | Active and inactive night shifts | Sleepover shifts listed | Not detailed publicly | Not described |
| House teams | Primary, secondary and relief teams per house | House capacity, occupancy and vacancies (Sites, beta) | Not described | Multiple residential locations | Team named after the house | SIL and SDA residential models | Not described |
| Per-house rules | Per-site rules for swaps, cancellations, open shifts and clock-in | House routines and lockbox codes for permitted staff | Not described | Not described | Not described | Not detailed publicly | Not described |
| Ratios and shared supports | Staffing numbers on templates; requirements checked per house and shift | Charges follow funded ratio, with overrides | Not described | 1:1 and group activities | Not described | Not detailed publicly | Not described |
| SIL billing | Invoices drafted from rostered shifts; bulk payment request CSV | Preset SIL charge items; weekly SIL in invoice batch | Plan budget tracking, bulk claims, PRODA | Irregular SIL claiming; per-resident budgets | Not described | Not detailed publicly | Not described |
| Plan or tier needed for SIL | Every feature on every plan | Per-user pricing; Sites in beta, enabled on request | Business plan | Not published | Pro or Premium for Teams | Demo only | Demo only |
| Free trial | 28 days | 14 days | None listed on Business | Not stated publicly | 7 days | Demo only | Demo only |
Which should you choose?
- Choose BondiByte if you want each SIL house to run as its own site with its own team, rules and roster pattern, sleepovers delivered to timesheets already split, Smart Rostering that shows its reasons, and every feature on every plan with a 28-day trial.
- Choose Astalty if funded-ratio group charges and preset SIL charge items sit at the top of your list, and you are comfortable that Sites is in beta and enabled on request.
- Choose Brevity if your priority is Roster of Care import, plan budget tracking, bulk claims and PRODA, and you are happy to be on the Business plan.
- Choose SupportAbility if you want ratio language, per-resident budgets and forecasting, and you meet its smallest bracket of 30 staff on an annual term.
- Choose ShiftCare if you already run a general rostering tool and can use Teams on the Pro or Premium plans, with at least 5 staff.
- Choose Lumary if you are a mid-to-large provider that wants a demo-led platform covering SIL, SDA and support coordination.
- Choose CareMaster if you want a general scheduling product and are happy to scope SIL needs through a demo.
SIL software FAQ
What should SIL houses look for in care management software?
Look for a weekly house pattern, sleepovers as a real shift shape, a house team, rules per house, requirements checked against each shift, and billing that follows the roster. If a vendor cannot show you those six in a live house setup, you will end up filling the gaps by hand.
How do sleepovers work in rostering software?
It depends on the platform. A sleepover is not one flat block of time. It is active hours, the sleepover itself, then active hours again. BondiByte records that shape on shifts and site templates and delivers it to timesheets already split into three components, with the right pay treatment for each from your own pay setup. Astalty pays workers for time awake and asks them to log interruptions on their phone, and SupportAbility lists active and inactive night shifts. In BondiByte you can override a single night without touching the template.
Can the software handle different ratios in the same house?
Residents in one home often need different levels of support at different times. Astalty bases group shift charges on each participant's funded ratio with per-participant overrides, and SupportAbility describes managing 1:1 and group activities. BondiByte sets staffing numbers on site templates, and checks a shared house against the requirements of that house and that shift, so the people rostered are the people the shift calls for.
How can SIL providers ensure compliant rostering and claiming?
Build the checks into the roster. In BondiByte, critical conflicts such as leave, inactive status, double-booking, blocked time and full shifts are blocked first. Every candidate then passes five suitability checks: availability, requirements, site team, hours cap and compliance, and expired evidence does not count. A manager reviews and publishes, and auto-publish is off unless you turn it on. The Audit Centre keeps a live readiness score with evidence mapped to the NDIS Practice Standards, and invoices are drafted from rostered shifts with a bulk payment request CSV in the NDIS layout.
Which NDIS software is best for SIL providers?
The best fit is the one that treats your house as a house. BondiByte gives every SIL home its own site, team, rules and roster pattern, handles sleepovers as a proper shape, and puts Smart Rostering, the Audit Centre and invoicing on every plan. Astalty also has a detailed SIL offering, and Brevity and SupportAbility add strong funding and budget tools. Run a real house through a trial before you commit.
What does SIL software cost?
Prices vary widely and are quoted on different bases. Astalty is $64 per standard user and $30 per support worker a month, GST inclusive. Brevity's Business plan is $6.49 per client a month ex GST, with a setup fee. ShiftCare runs from $13 to $25 per user a month ex GST with a 5-staff minimum. CareMaster starts from $16 per user ex GST with a minimum of 5 users. SupportAbility and Lumary quote on request. For BondiByte, for a team of 10, the Starter plan works out at about $9.90 per staff member a month, with every feature included.
Do I need a higher plan to run SIL?
On some platforms, yes. Brevity places Group Rostering and the SIL and Plan Management modules on its Business plan, and ShiftCare offers Teams only on Pro or Premium. Astalty's Sites feature is in beta and enabled on request. BondiByte puts every feature on every plan, so a SIL house does not need an upgrade.
Put a SIL house through BondiByte
The quickest way to judge SIL software is to set up one real house. Start the 28-day free trial, link your participants, build the team, save a roster pattern from real shifts and see what Smart Rostering recommends. To see a SIL house get its roster pattern, watch the Smart Rostering video on this page first.
How we compared
Competitor facts come from each vendor's public pages, checked on 15 October 2026. Prices change, so confirm current details with each vendor before you decide. BondiByte details come from bondibyterobotics.com.au.