Amazingly , its now been a year since the last Au Pairs arrived in Australia and if your one of the thousands of families in Australia that rely on live in Au Pairs to be able to keep working, how can you find in Au Pair during these times?
It’s a question that we are constantly being asked and is a cause of a huge amount of stress for families trying to juggle work & childcare whilst also trying to make ends meet.
The reality is that the amount of International Backpackers (who make up our Au Pairs) now left in Australia is very low.. How low we’re not sure but traditional avenues for families connecting with au pairs such as Facebook Groups are eerily quiet… As always families & au pairs need to be extremely cautious engaging this way – setting clear expectations and completing background checks is VITAL – but be prepared to be let down as backpackers have a lot of options and plans can change very quickly…
As an Agency that usually recruits Au Pairs that are already in Australia, we have very low numbers of Au Pairs left and adding to this challenge, the backpackers that are left in Australia typically need to earn more money as funds have run low. In addition to this they are on mostly emergency Visas which are being offered usually for 3 months at a time.
This is making the option of Au Pairing, where weekly pocket money is paid and families ideally need 6 months of reliable childcare – not as appealing to cash-strapped backpackers. When Covid first struck here, many Au Pairs were glad and grateful to have the safety and security of living with a family – now things are different.
What are the options for families? Many families are hiring local carers who can help with before/after school care or part time. Some of these nannies will live in too. Families need to be very aware however of their legal responsibilities, as they become employers in this situation and have a responsibility to pay nannies correctly.
Although this is a more expensive option , some families are managing with less hours due to working from home etc and finding a local, part time, after school nanny can work really well – and can be more reliable and long term than au au Pair too.
To find out more about hiring an Australian Nanny , feel free to get in touch and we can discuss and recommend best options for you.
If hosting an Au Pair is the only option, we anticipate Australian borders opening from visitors from Japan, Singapore and New Zealand initially and hopefully by Mid 2021 – Fingers Crossed!
We imagine demand for Au Pairs to be high, and supply will be low once travel starts again so we encourage registering your interest for an Au Pair now and we can keep you on our wait list and let you know when we have news on expected arrivals