Contract-Salary-Conditions

Pocket money, working hours and contract in Australia

What are the responsibilities of an Au pair in Australia? How many hours a week does an Au pair work? How much do Au pairs get paid in Australia? You can find below all the relevant factors regarding an Au pair stay in Australia. In Australia there is no formal and accredited Au pair programme. According to Fair Work, whether an Au pair is an employee will depend on the individual relationship between the Au pair and host family, but they come to live with families in Australia primarily for a cultural experience.

The Au Pair:

  • provides up to 40 hours per week (excluding babysitting).
  • takes care of your children at home (meals, baths, games, naps ...)
  • accompany your children to school, extracurricular activities, leisure ...
  • should be willing to do daily light housekeeping (cooking, laundry, dishes, ironing ...)
  • shall bear the cost of their language classes in their free time
  • More info about Au pair Tasks in Australia

There are no formal government regulations regarding Au pair arrangements in Australia, for the same reason is essential to establish an Au pair contract between Au pairs and host families.

At this point, we will provide host families with a negotiated and legally binding arrangement between parties for the Au pair stay, including what chores should the Au pair do, how much holidays will the Au pair be entitled to, how many hours can you ask her to do and which days so that a transparent and reasonable agreement is established between host family and Au pair.

Our agency makes sure that both parties are protected and therefore it applies a notice period of 2 weeks from both au pairs and families in Australia to make sure we can organize a new Au pair for the host family who will be in need of childcare arrangements.

The maximum length allowed for an au pair stay with the same employer in Australia is six months. However, if both Au pair and host family are happy to continue for up to 12 months, we can apply for an extension with Immigration.

The main duty or obligation of an Au pair in Australia is to look after the children of the host family. Moreover, the Au pair can be requested to help with light housework. We will provide your host family with a detailed list of what is considered or not light housework and this activities will be included in your Au pair contract.


More information on the topic: What ‘s the acceptable Level of Housework for an Au pair

Au pairs are entitled to weekly pocket money depending on their childcare experience and working hours. Host families are expected to pay the minimum $9 AUD per hour and the maximum working hours allowed are 40 per week. More info about Au pair pocket money in Australia.

Au pairs should have a private, fully furnished room in a clean, safe and comfortable home and au pairs receive meals with the host family free of charge as room and board costs are deducted already from her pocket money.

As the au pair is considered a cultural exchange program, they are not paid a minimum wage in Australia.

Our main focus is placing au pairs in leading cities. Although we also assist with placements in rural or country areas, these locations typically attract fewer applicants.

Most au pairs in Australia work 36 hours a week, we recommend a working time of 30 and up to 40 hours per week - ideally suited to busy working parents including babysitting hours.

Temporary employees under the working holiday visa such as au pairs, are not entitled to many benefits in Australia, such as Medicare, Superannuation, rebates.

All Au pairs are advised to get a health insurance prior to their arrival to Australia to cover their GP consultations and basic hospital cover in case of an accident.

We highly advise au pairs to be fully covered throughout the au pair stay and arrange this before leaving their own country as both Medical treatment and insurance policies are more expensive in Australia.

Au pairs in Australia are requested to cover their travel expenses which include flight tickets to and from their original country, working visa and travel insurance, our au pairs will always cover their own flight and not seek any help from the families as scammers do through other pure matching websites.

Most of our au pairs hold an International Driving license and can assist dropping kids to and from school and other activities such as sports/ballet lessons in the afternoon. We request families to include your au pair on the vehicle’s insurance cover.

In Australia, laws and driving regulations are different from state to state. Some states might accept that you hold an International Licence with your current foreign licence.

Other states request you carry your current foreign driver's licence together with a formal translation of your licence into English.

Remember in Australia, we drive on the left hand side of the road.

Every family has different needs and requirements. We request families to make clear what are The duties they require the au pair to perform on the working schedule provided to each family.

Light Duties may include: laundry, vacuuming, cleaning up after the children and cooking for the children.

The Au Pair isn’t expected to clean all the house, clean a pool, do gardening or wash the cars.

An Au Pair may be asked to do some grocery shopping or other activities involving the children.

An au pair is a girl usually early twenties, most of them around 19 yrs old coming to Australia under the working holiday visa with the aim to improve their English and learn about the Australian culture, they should be treated as a family member.

Some au pairs at aupairworld do not have any childcare experience and their screening is very limited as nobody can prove that they are providing you with trusted and real documents in their own language. In order to accept any au pair our agency has several requirements including childcare experience and a deep screening, however au pairs in general, do not make a career out of childcare.

Australian nannies will have experience In childcare and some have qualifications as they usually work in childcare for many years as part of their career.

 

Additional information on Au pair stay in Australia

Requirements for au pairs and host families in Australia

Want to have your own Au pair adventure?

Then register as an Au pair at Au Pair Australia! Register now

Want to have your own Au pair?

Then register as a family at Au Pair Australia! Register now