Au Pair in Australia – The Land Down Under

Land of wombats and kangoroos, koalas and...spiders! Who wouldn't love to spend some time in Australia and explore the outback and amazing cities?

• Requirements to become an Au Pair in Australia
• Duties and Responsibilities of an Au Pair in Australia
• Visa Requirements
• Pocket Money
• Insurance

Au Pair in Australia - At a Glance

• Age: between 18 and 30 years old
• Duration of Stay: between 3 and 12 months
• Working Hours: 25-35 hours per week
• Holidays: 1 weeks holiday recommended for 6 months of stay or the payment of a completion bonus. The au pair will have at least one day off per week; this day should be a Sunday once a month.
• Travel Expenses: the au pair will travel at their own expenses
• Insurance: the au pair is responsible for health, accident and travel insurance
• Pocket Money: 150-250 AUS $ per week, or about 7 AUS$ per hour
• Visa Requirements:
  Working Holiday Visa 417: for citizens of Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, and United Kingdom.
  Work and Holiday visa 462: for citizens of Bangladesh, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and United States. This Work and Holiday visa is limited for some countries to 100 visas per year.

Can I become an Au Pair in Australia?

To become an au pair in Australia, you need to meet the following requirements.

• You speak good English
• You are not younger than 18 and not older than 30
• You are healthy and don't smoke
• You like hanging out with children
• You don't have your own children and are not married

What are my duties as au pair?

Your responsibilities vary depending on the host family you are staying with. The main task of an au pair in any country is child care, so it is really important that you like spending time with children.

Your tasks might include dressing the children in the morning, feeding them, take them to school, kindergarten or to play dates in the afternoon, do crafts with them, play with them or read a book.

Visa requirements

Working Holiday Visa

• Subclass 462 or student visa: citizens of Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and USA.
• Subclass 417: citizens of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France , Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Canada, the U.S., Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, South Korea, Taiwan or Cyprus.

Citizens from New Zealand

Make sure you apply for the visa you need before arriving in Australia. Don't forget that you only get to stay a maximum of 6 months with a host family, so if you are willing to stay one year you have to apply for a visa extension once you switch the families.

How much pocket money does an au pair get?

The pocket money you earn as an au pair in Australia will depend on the family you are staying with but you can definitely find approximate wages of what an au pair should expect to earn in the Down Under country. Most au pairs earn around $7 AUS per hour or a minimum of $150-$200 AUS per week.

What about my insurance?

If you come from one of the following countries you will be able to access medical care at public hospitals with a temporary visa and without a private health insurance: the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia and New Zealand.

The Au Pair should get a health insurance that will take care of all costs in case of an emergency. The “Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC)" provides help in an emergency case and will stop you from paying hospitalization costs and all the extra fees, which can be very expensive.

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