What is an Au Pair?

The word au pair comes from French meaning "on a par" or "on the same level". The French refer to it as "jeune fille au pair” meaning "young girl as one of us".   The idea is to have a young girl in the home as one of the family to help with light household duties and child care. However, she is not expected to be another child in the home but a responsible, reliable young adult.   Au pair has become the general term used in most countries to mean a young person who lives with a family, full board and lodge, doing light household duties, helping with the children and is paid some pocket money.   On average, an au pair works between 25 - 45 hours per week, has 2 days free per week and 10 days paid leave per 6 month stay.

Why have a JCR Au Pair?

• We offer a comprehensive service and give continued support throughout the placement.
• All applicants are required to complete an in-depth application, which includes questions relating to their suitability for au pairing.
• The full application is made available to our registered host families
• JCR provides constant feedback of information between ourselves and our overseas associate offices                                                             
• JCR does all the administrative work required
• JCR will do all and any negotiations that are required
• JCR ensures that you are advised of the visa situation - if applicable,
• JCR provides flight details so that arrangements are made for the au pair to be collected at the airport
• JCR provides a booklet to the family and the applicant alike, on living in with a family to ensure a smooth settling in period
• JCR provides the aupair with a childcare booklet
• JCR draws up a family/applicant agreement which safeguards both parties

Hosting an Au Pair:

• An au pair is not as a hired help and must be treated as part of the family with full board and lodging provided. They must have their own furnished bedroom within the family home or suitable alternative accommodation. They are not expected to share a room and must be accorded their privacy.
• If they have a valid driver's licence and are required to drive, access to a family car should be provided for childcare duties and possibly for their own private use, this latter by arrangement.  They should be covered by your vehicle insurance.
• They should have the choice of having all their meals with the family or the family's children.
• They should be given time to travel both with the family and on their own. Paid holidays:  10 working days paid leave on a 6 month contract and 20 days paid leave on a 12 month contract, not counting weekends.  A pro-rata number of days would be applicable to other contract lengths. Leave can be given at any time in consultation between the au pair and yourselves. Sick leave arrangement should be discussed when your au pair arrives as should any cost of medical attention.  The au pair should have taken out travel/medical insurance cover that can be claimed from.
• They must be permitted to have friends over outside of their working hours and to go out when not on duty. Rules regarding friends should be discussed with your applicant prior to placement beginning.
• They should be given money commensurate configured based on hours, level of responsibility and duties agreed.  You are welcome to discuss a rate of pay with us but we recommend an amount between $6-$8 an hour. The average offered is $150 - $245 per week for around 25 – 40 hours.  Should an overseas/Australian/New Zealand candidate be a Qualified Nanny remuneration should be configured at a higher rate of pay. We suggest between  $10-$12 net an hour.  These hours can include 1 evening babysitting. [Not on their days/nights off]  If additional hours are required, then an arrangement must be made between the Au pair and family to compensate with either additional time off or additional remuneration. The remuneration is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.  
• Time off: The Au pair must be given a reasonable amount of time off, preferably 2 consecutive days and if these days are during the week then the au pair must have two full weekends free in a month. This can be negotiated between the Au pair and the family depending on circumstances with the childcare requirements.
• Duties: An Au pair’s duties are predominantly childcare orientated. Accepted average would be 70% childcare/ 30% light housework.  They are not expected to do heavy household duties that would normally be allocated to a cleaning service (eg: cleaning bathrooms, mopping and vacuuming all floors, washing windows, intensive kitchen cleaning etc). It is fair to expect them to keep their own bathroom and bedroom tidy and clean. They can be responsible for helping keep the children’s rooms clean and tidy including vacuuming,making beds, changing linen and assisting with their laundry. Assistance with meal preparation and helping clean up after meals is well within the accepted duties. Any other household duties can be  discussed and negotiated.
  

Aupair expectations:

• In return for a host family providing full board and lodge, which includes meals, basic personal requirements and some pocket money, they are happy to help out in the home with chores which are required. They will be most happy to be treated as a member of the family helping with the younger children and performing all childcare requirements.
• They are not expecting to be treated as a domestic employee and their host family should not ask them to do anything they themselves would not normally do.
• They should be given the choice of whether they wish to be included in outings/holidays with their host family and to make friends in the area.

Attracting Au pairs to do childcare in Australia.

Au Pairs from overseas.

There is no aupair visa to Australia.  There is a 12 month Working Holiday Visa. The rules of this visa are that the holder can take two 6 month "jobs" while in Australia. The Visa is restricted to certain countries so we are limited to procuring au pairs from those countries only.

As the demand from Australian families for aupairs from overseas countries grows, we need to be aware that not only do we have the limitation as above but that there is so much competition from other countries around the world for these same applicants.  America provides return airfares and full insurance cover making the program very attractive indeed.  All EU countries provide airfares or at the least provide the return airfare. Insurance cover is provided. South African families pay an end of stay completion bonus.

It might interest you to know that to get the visa the applicant has to be able to show that they have an amount of about $4500 available to them whilst in Australia. The visa also requires that they provide their own Travel Health insurance cover.

Australia which is far away from those countries where there is a working holiday visa [mostly Northern hemisphere]  and costly to get to and where the applicants have to provide their own round trip return airfare and insurance cover, comes low on the list as a country to choose to go to.  It is only those girls that really want to come down under that find the money to join the program.

Au pairs from New Zealand.

New Zealanders do not require any visa to come to Australia and can stay and work for whatever length of time they wish to.  Many Kiwi applicants are qualified nannies.  They often wish to take a gap year and come to do childcare for families in Australia.

Au Pairs from within Australia.

From time to time we do receive enquiries from young people, very often straight out of high school, who are interested in living in with a family to au pair to have an opportunity to go to another State.

What can be done to encourage overseas applicants to au pair in Australia?

There are a number of choices.

You can offer to provide the round trip return flight ticket.  

You can offer to pay the au pair half the cost of the ticket.  This can be done before they leave their home country or can be arranged for when they arrive or offered as an end of stay payment.

You can offer to pay an end of stay completion bonus. In this case the amount of bonus would be entirely up to the family.

What can be done to encourage New Zealand Applicants to au pair or nanny in Australia.

For stays of 12 months only you can offer to provide both the inbound and outbound, one way tickets.

You can offer to provide the one way flight to Australia.

You can offer to pay the return flight back to New Zealand at the end of their stay.

You can offer a bonus after 6 months stay and a further completion bonus at the end of a 12 month stay.

What can be done to encourage Australians to live in with an Australian family as their Au Pair or maybe Nanny.

For stays of 12 months only you can offer to pay transport to and from your home.

You can offer to pay the costs to get to your home.

You can offer to pay the costs when they return to their own home.

You can offer a bonus after 6 months stay and a further completion bonus at the end of a 12 month stay.

Benefits

If you provide the air ticket or travel costs then the au pair has a lot less expense before coming to Australia or moving States.

If you choose one of the other suggestions the aupair can then use that money towards any travelling she wants to do in Australia before having to return home.

She feels appreciated and she goes home with only good memories of her stay. She talks to other young people and tells them about her stay so that they too will consider coming "Down Under" or jumping "The Ditch" or living in another State for a while,  as an au pair.

Whilst you are under no obligation whatsoever, to work with the above suggestions, JCR would really like you to consider them.  The suggestions are made in order to help motivate au pairs come to Australia or au pair within Australia rather than go elsewhere.

If you wish to follow any one of these suggestions please indicate so on the application form.