How to create a roster template
Build reusable roster templates that match your business demand, meet award requirements, and save hours of scheduling time every week.
Written by
Georgia Morgan
General information only – not legal advice
This guide provides general information about roster templates for Australian businesses. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.
Roster template types
| Type | Best For | Award Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Most retail and hospitality businesses | General Retail Industry Award | Simple to manage, easy for staff to understand |
| Fortnightly | Healthcare, office-based roles | HPSS Award, Clerks Award | Balances hours over 2 weeks, common in healthcare |
| 4-week cycle | Shift work, 24/7 operations | Security, nursing, manufacturing | Allows for rotating shift patterns |
| Rolling pattern | Continuous shift operations | Mining, transport, emergency services | Fixed rotation (e.g., 4 on, 4 off) |
Step-by-Step guide
Follow these steps to create an effective roster template
Analyse your demand patterns
Review historical data to understand when you need staff and how many.
Key actions:
- Review sales or customer traffic data by day and hour
- Identify peak periods and quiet times
- Consider seasonal variations (school holidays, events)
- Note any recurring patterns week to week
Define your shift structure
Create standard shift types that align with your operating hours and award requirements.
Key actions:
- Set standard shift start and end times
- Ensure shifts meet minimum engagement requirements
- Build in adequate break times
- Consider handover periods between shifts
Map roles to shifts
Determine which roles and how many staff you need for each shift.
Key actions:
- List all positions needed for each time slot
- Define skill requirements for each role
- Calculate minimum and optimal staffing levels
- Consider supervision and skill mix requirements
Build your template structure
Create the framework that will be reused each rostering period.
Key actions:
- Choose weekly, fortnightly, or 4-week template based on your award
- Create clear column headers for each day
- Include rows for each shift type or position
- Add space for employee names and shift times
Add compliance checkpoints
Build in safeguards to ensure each roster meets legal requirements.
Key actions:
- Include minimum hours requirements per employee
- Flag shifts that trigger penalty rates
- Track consecutive days worked
- Monitor weekly hour limits
Test and refine
Use your template for several roster periods and adjust based on feedback.
Key actions:
- Compare actual demand to template assumptions
- Gather feedback from managers and staff
- Adjust shift times or staffing levels as needed
- Save multiple templates for different scenarios
Essential template elements
Header row
Week commencing date, location/department name
Quick identification and reference
Day columns
Monday through Sunday (or operating days)
Organise shifts by day
Shift rows
Shift name, start/end times, role required
Define when staff are needed
Employee names
Assigned staff member for each shift
Clear accountability
Hours totals
Weekly hours per employee, daily staff count
Compliance and budgeting
Notes section
Special requirements, events, reminders
Context for that roster period
Compliance checklist for your template
Minimum shift hours met
Most awards require 3-4 hour minimum engagement
Tip: Set up alerts for short shifts
Break requirements included
Typically 30-min break after 5 hours
Tip: Build break times into shift templates
Maximum hours not exceeded
38 ordinary hours/week (most awards)
Tip: Track totals automatically
Rest between shifts
Usually 8-11 hours between shifts
Tip: Flag close-close or close-open patterns
Consecutive days limit
Varies by award (often 5-6 days max)
Tip: Monitor days worked in sequence
Penalty rate periods marked
Evenings, weekends, public holidays
Tip: Highlight penalty periods in template
Common template mistakes
Template too rigid
Cant adapt to demand fluctuations, over or understaffing
Create multiple templates for different demand levels
Ignoring award minimums
Shifts shorter than minimum engagement, underpayment claims
Set minimum shift length in template structure
No buffer for absences
Understaffed when someone calls in sick
Build in slight overstaffing or have casual backup pool
Static templates never updated
Template no longer matches business needs
Review and update templates quarterly
Frequently asked questions
- Create your master templates well in advance of needing them—ideally when setting up your rostering system or at the start of a new season. The template itself is reusable; you then populate it with employee names each roster period. For the actual roster based on your template, we recommend publish at least 7 days in advance, though many awards require this as a minimum. Some businesses publish 2-4 weeks ahead to give staff more certainty.
- While Excel can work for small teams, dedicated rostering software offers significant advantages: automatic compliance checking, integration with time and attendance, employee self-service for availability and shift swaps, and automatic costing. As your team grows beyond 5-10 staff, software typically saves more time than it costs. Software templates also update automatically when award rates change.
- Most businesses benefit from having 2-4 templates: a standard week template for normal operations, a busy period template for peak seasons or events, a quiet period template for slower times, and potentially templates for school holidays or special events. Having multiple templates ready means you can quickly adapt to changing demand without building rosters from scratch.
Regulatory sources
Official resources for rostering requirements:
Create rosters faster
RosterElf lets you build and save roster templates, then auto-fill shifts based on staff availability. Built for Australian small businesses.
Related guides
More resources for rostering and scheduling.
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