Plan a roster or schedule
A practical way to use AI for this job in a small business, with a prompt you can copy.
Every week you juggle availability, leave requests, award rules and busy periods. The roster takes hours, and someone still ends up short-staffed on Saturday.
The prompt
Help me draft a roster for next week. Staff and availability: [list]. Shifts needed: [list]. Rules: [e.g. max hours, breaks]. Show it as a table and flag any gaps.
Replace everything in [square brackets] with your own details. Don't paste in anything you wouldn't want stored by the AI provider.
Steps
- List availability and shifts.
- Run the prompt.
- Check against award conditions (Fair Work).
- Enter it into your rostering tool.
A worked example
A Fremantle cafe has eight staff with different availability. The owner gives ChatGPT the opening hours, how many staff are needed per shift, everyone's availability and any fixed rules (no more than five shifts a week, minimum break between shifts). Names are swapped for initials.
It produces a draft roster as a table. She checks it against award requirements, moves two shifts so a casual gets their minimum engagement, and enters it into Deputy. Down from two hours to about 40 minutes.
Where it goes wrong
AI can't reliably handle award rules, penalty rates or minimum engagements. Check every draft. It also doesn't know that Sam and Jo shouldn't work together, or that Tuesday lunch is always slammed. Feed it those rules or adjust afterwards.
Time saved
Rostering can take 1 to 2 hours a week for a small team. With AI drafting, 30 to 45 minutes including checks. These are my estimates for a typical small business, not measured results.
What it costs (AUD)
Rostering tools like Deputy and Tanda charge per user per month, usually a few dollars to around A$10 per user. MYOB Business Pro (A$70 a month) includes rosters. Check each vendor for current AUD pricing.
The free plans of ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini handle this fine. If you end up using AI every day, the paid plans are roughly: ChatGPT Plus approx. A$30 a month, Claude Pro approx. A$29 a month billed monthly (US$20, or about A$24 a month if you pay yearly), and Google AI Pro approx. A$33 a month through the App Store. Prices approx., October 2026. Some are billed in US dollars, so your bank may add a foreign transaction fee. Check the vendor's pricing page before you buy.
Australian notes
Awards set rules on minimum shifts, breaks, penalty rates and overtime. AI doesn't reliably know which award applies or its current rates. Check the roster against your award using the Fair Work Ombudsman's tools. Use initials, not full names, in AI tools.
Privacy: the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) cover most businesses turning over more than $3 million, plus some smaller ones such as health providers. Even if you're under the threshold, treat customer details with care: strip names, phone numbers and addresses before you paste anything into an AI tool.
My verdict
Useful draft. Award compliance is on you; rostering tools handle that better.
Common questions
Can AI apply award rules automatically?
Not reliably. Rostering software with award interpretation is better for that.
Should I share the roster with staff?
Yes, as early as possible. Fair notice matters.
What if someone swaps a shift?
Update the roster and check the swap doesn't break award rules.
Do this today
Write down next week's shifts and everyone's availability in a simple list. Ask AI for a draft roster and compare it with what you'd have done.
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