Au Pair in Australia: salary, working hours, holidays and more

The Au Pair program in Australia is not yet officially handled by the government, so the rules are mainly taken from the international Au Pair program. There are general principles that Au Pairs and Host Families should respect.

Au Pair salary in Australia

The recommended hourly wage is 7 AUD. That will sum up to 175 AUD per week for 25 hours or 245 AUD for 35 hours, respectively 790 AUD or 1100 AUD per month.
    
As the Au Pair program is not recognised officially as an exchange program by the government, Au Pairs will have to follow the rules as if they were standard employees. This means that tax will be withheld from the Au Pair's pay and they'll be obligated to lodge a tax return each year.

From January 1, 2017 the first AUD 37,000 of a working holiday maker's income are taxed at 15%. There are two different kinds of tax though, so please check the information on the website of the Australian Taxation Office.

Working hours

As there are no official Au Pair program rules in Australia, the exact number of working hours should be stated clearly in the contract.
     
The number of working hours may vary between 10 and 40 hours per week; nonetheless, usually it’s roughly 25 - 35 hours. Babysitting hours are included in this time. If not, they will have to be paid as overtime.

Holidays and free time

Discuss the time off and holidays before signing the contract. We recommend at least one day off each week, and at least one Sunday each month. The participant should discuss the exact schedule with the Host Family and plan their free time. Include the babysitting hours in the work time.
     
Discuss the holidays in detail as well - the recommended time for the holiday break is 2 weeks per 6 months of the stay. If the Host Family and the Au Pair spend a holiday together, clarify if this is part of the participant’s holiday or not. Mention this clearly in the contract.

Language course

The participant can enroll in an English language course while being in Australia. The applicant should cover the language course cost. It’s also possible to discuss this with the family.

Travel costs

To become an Au Pair in Australia the participant will need a visa. So the applicant will need to prove that they have enough savings and can cover the travel expenses to go there and to return to the home country. Nonetheless, it is possible to  discuss with the Host Family to see if they are willing to share these costs with the participant! We recommend refunding any money only after the Au Pair’s arrival.