The short answer
Approving a shift locks in the hours and travel used for your pay and the provider's invoice. Check your times, travel and notes before you submit, because once a shift is approved, fixing it means someone has to undo that approval first.
If you work shifts for an NDIS provider, approving a shift usually isn't something you do yourself. It's the step your employer takes once your hours are submitted, and it's the moment your worked time becomes locked in for pay and for the invoice that goes toward the participant's plan. Knowing what happens at that point helps you submit accurate hours the first time, instead of chasing a correction later.
Who actually approves a shift
In most support work, you submit your hours and shift notes after a shift finishes. Your supervisor, team leader or the business owner then reviews what you've submitted and approves it. Approving isn't a task a casual support worker handles for themselves, it belongs to whoever runs the roster and needs to sign off before pay and invoicing go ahead.
What approval locks in
Once a shift is approved, the figures attached to it become the ones used for pay and billing. That's why the review usually happens before approval, not after.
- The hours used, whether that's the rostered times or the times you actually signed in and out
- Any travel time logged against the shift
- Shift notes, completed tasks and incident reports attached to that shift
What to check before you submit your hours
- Did you sign in and out at the right times, or note the correct start and finish if sign in wasn't used
- Is your travel time accurate, since it gets locked in alongside the hours
- Are your shift notes and any tasks or incident report actually attached to the right shift
- Does anything look different from what was rostered, and have you flagged it before handing it over
A fictional example
In this fictional, anonymous example, a support worker finishes a two hour shift and logs fifteen minutes of travel on the way home, travel that had already been logged earlier that day against a different participant. The admin reviewing hours before approval notices the travel appears twice and checks with the worker before approving the shift, rather than after. Because the shift hadn't been approved yet, sorting it out takes a two minute conversation instead of unwinding an approved and already invoiced shift.
If something needs fixing after approval
Sometimes an error isn't caught until after a shift has already been approved. An admin or owner can undo that approval, correct the detail, and approve it again. If the shift has already gone further, for example into an invoice, there may be extra steps on their end to sort out. As a worker, the simplest thing you can do is flag anything wrong as soon as you notice it, so the correction happens before invoicing rather than after.
If you run your own client work instead
Some readers aren't employees. If you work for yourself, taking on NDIS clients directly, there's no employer approving your hours. You're the one tracking your own shift notes and turning finished shifts into your own invoices. Sparks Scribe, from the same team behind Sparks Provider, is built for that independent setup, letting you capture shift notes by typing or speaking and turn them into invoices for your own clients. That's a different job to an employer approving hours inside a provider's roster, so it's worth knowing which situation you're actually in.
Related reading
- 6 Small Habits That Make Support Worker Handovers Clearer, supportworkerguide.com.au
- What Actually Happens When You're Offered a Shift (And How to Reply Fast), supportworkerguide.com.au
Frequently asked questions
Can I approve my own shift?
No. Approval is a step the business's owner or admin takes to lock hours and travel in for pay and invoicing. Your job as a worker is to submit accurate hours and notes for them to review.
What if I notice a mistake after my shift was approved?
Tell your supervisor or admin as soon as you notice it. They can undo the approval, correct the detail, and approve it again. An already invoiced shift may need extra handling on their end.
Does approving a shift affect what I get paid?
Approval locks in the hours and travel used for pay, but it doesn't calculate wages or interpret award rates. Approved hours are handed to payroll as draft timesheets for checking.
I'm an independent support worker, not an employee. Does this still apply to me?
Not in the same way. There's no employer approving your shifts. You manage your own notes and invoices directly, which is the situation Sparks Scribe is built for.