Question 1

What Cover is, and isn't

Accepted Answer

Cover is a job board and workflow administration tool for the dental industry. It isn't an agency or an employer: your practice employs the professional as a casual employee and pays them. Cover never holds or moves wages or super.

Question 2

Who employs the professional?

Accepted Answer

Your practice, as a casual employee, for the shift they accepted. Cover supplies the software your pay run flows through: approved timesheets are turned into a pay run with PAYG, super and payslips prepared for you, and you review and declare it. The employment relationship is between your clinic and the professional throughout.

Question 3

Where is Cover available?

Accepted Answer

Australia-wide. If you already have casuals or regular temps of your own, bring them across and run their shifts and payroll through Cover from day one.

Question 4

How are they checked?

Accepted Answer

Identity and the qualifications their role requires, reviewed and approved by our team, before they can accept a shift. Hygienists and OHTs also need current AHPRA registration and professional indemnity insurance. See exactly what we verify.

Question 5

Who are the professionals?

Accepted Answer

Dental assistants, hygienists, oral health therapists and receptionists. You can see their full profile, including skills, experience and reviews from other clinics, before the shift starts.

Question 6

How quickly can I fill a temp shift?

Accepted Answer

As soon as you post a shift, every available professional within range is notified in the app. They can see the date, the rate and your clinic profile, and accept on the spot, so a shift can be filled without a single phone call. How fast it fills depends on how many professionals are available in your area on that day.

Question 7

Who sets the hourly rate?

Accepted Answer

You do. You set the rate when you post the shift, and professionals see it, along with their estimated take-home pay, before they accept. Penalty rates, public holidays and overtime under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award (MA000027) are applied on top automatically. There's no agency markup sitting on top of it and nothing is deducted from the professional's pay.

Question 8

What payroll do I need?

Accepted Answer

Setup connects payroll so approved timesheets don't need re-keying. Tell us what you use now and we'll walk you through it.

Question 9

Do I have to use Cover for payroll?

Accepted Answer

Shifts booked through Cover flow into Cover's weekly pay run, which is what removes the timesheet chasing and the manual PAYG and super calculations. Your permanent staff stay wherever you run them today. Cover only covers the temp shifts you book on the platform, and it's part of the 15%, so there's nothing extra per employee in your own payroll software.

Question 10

Can I use my own casuals?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Invite them to Cover with your clinic’s referral code. Once they’re verified, they’re notified of your shifts the same way as every other available professional within range, and they can accept the ones that suit them. You’re both rewarded once you’ve each completed a shift: $20 off your platform fee, and $20 cash for them. See section 20 of our Terms.

Question 11

Can I book the same professional again?

Accepted Answer

Not by name. Each shift you post goes to every available professional within range, so someone who has worked with you before can accept it again, but so can anyone else. To keep one person for a run of days, post a multi-day booking: one professional accepts every day, and any day you add later is offered only to them. You’re also free to offer someone permanent or ongoing work, with no placement, buyout or conversion fee.

Question 12

What happens if a professional cancels or doesn't show?

Accepted Answer

Tell us and we'll help get the shift re-posted to available professionals straight away. Nothing enters the pay run for a shift that wasn't worked, so you aren't charged for it. We don't charge a cancellation fee, and a professional can only cancel through the app more than an hour before the start time. The detail is in section 6 of our Terms.

Question 13

Who carries insurance and workers compensation?

Accepted Answer

Your clinic does, because your clinic is the employer. You maintain workers' compensation and public liability insurance as the laws of your state or territory require, and the work health and safety obligations for your premises are yours, exactly as they are for your permanent team. Separately, hygienists and oral health therapists must hold the professional indemnity insurance the Dental Board of Australia requires, and we verify it before they can accept a shift. This is set out in section 14.3 of our Terms.

Question 14

How is our clinic and payroll data protected?

Accepted Answer

Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, with additional field-level encryption on tax file numbers, bank account numbers and clinic sign-in codes. Each clinic's data is separated in both the application and the database, and the database, file storage and payroll all run in Australia. How we protect information has the full detail.

Question 15

How do I get set up?

Accepted Answer

Claim your clinic profile, add the details a temp needs on the day (location and parking, your team, your software and systems) and you're ready to post. Most clinics are set up in well under an hour, and we'll walk you through it on a call if you'd rather not do it alone.

Short tomorrow? See who can cover it.

Fill shifts faster.

Single or multi-day bookings.

Checked before they're booked.

You set the rate.
We apply the award.

Multiple clinics, one account.

Approve once. Payroll's covered.

Simple, fair pricing.

For clinics

Your data, and your obligations, covered.

Award rates calculated automatically

Hosted in Australia

Encrypted where it matters

Set up in 10 minutes, then post the moment you need cover.

Clinic FAQs

Fill a shift, or find one.