How to become a Host Family in Australia

If your family is interested in foreign cultures and another way of living, but there is just so much to do that travelling far is not possible? Then hosting an Au Pair might be right for you. You would invite a young woman or man to live with you for up to a year and receive reliable and flexible childcare. Here you will find all the necessary information about how to become a Host Family in Australia.

Can you become a Host Family in Australia?

Let your kids discover a new culture at a young age. They will be more open-minded and tolerant in the future if they have lived with someone from another country. In order to invite an Au Pair, hosts need to meet certain requirements though:

You should have at least one child under the age of 13
There is a private bedroom at your house for the participant
Your family can also provide the Au Pair with food and salary
English is the spoken language in your family
Your nationality is different than the Au Pair’s nationality

Do you agree with all those points above? Then get your family prepared for a cultural exchange with the Au Pair program. If you register at Aupair.com, you might find a new family member faster than you’ve expected.

Family free registration

The first step is to create a profile on our website. You should formulate a nice welcome letter, describe your family and upload some pictures. Profiles with photos are far more successful and popular than profiles without.

A profile at AuPair.com is for free with a Basic Membership. With this membership you will be able to send standardized messages and add applicants to your list of favorites. A Premium Membership will give you the opportunity to write personal messages to exchange contact details, so you can actually get to know the candidate. This membership will also include a template of the Au Pair contract and a handbook for the Host Family. Both will be sent to you in the email with the payment confirmation.

When you communicate with your Au Pairs you should check with them if they are eligible for a visa to go to Australia as an Au Pair. You will find the general visa regulations on our website, but the candidate should always check specific regulations to get the visa with the Australian embassy in his/her home country. You can also find more information about working hours, the schedule, pocket money and the insurance.

You can arrange skype interviews with your candidates and talk to them a couple of times. Then it is time to make a decision, whom you want to invite to stay with your family. You should talk about the contract, which should include all the details about the stay. Both parties need to sign it.

How to hire an Au Pair in Australia?

Au Pairs in Australia will need the Working Holiday visa. They will be allowed to work and live in Australia for a certain amount of time. Each applicant has to meet requirements in order to be eligible for the visa:

He/She needs to be between 18 and 30 years old.
His/Her English skills have to be on a good level.
The applicant has at least 5.000 AUD in her/his bank account and is able to pay for the flight.
He/She applies for the visa for the first time.
The candidate should be unmarried and not have children

Additional requirements for Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417):

He/She has never been in Australia with a Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 462)

Additional requirements for Work and Holiday Visa (Subclass 462):

The applicant needs to meet the educational requirements of the application form.
The government has to provide the candidate with a confirmation that they approve his/her stay in Australia.

Besides the official requirements there are some expectations the applicant has to meet:

Experience in childcare is necessary
Each applicant should be healthy

For more information about the visa requirements, you should check our information about the visa to Australia. We also recommend to get more information about the requirements at the Australian embassy of the Au Pair’s home country.

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, depending on if your family is registered at the ATO as an employer of a working holiday maker or not, so please check the information on the website of the Australian Taxation Office.

If your chosen new family member is eligible to apply for a visa, there are only a few more steps to go:

Sign the Contract

The agreement is the most important document the Au Pair and you need, because if both of you sign it, you can avoid problems and misunderstandings in the future. So everything that matters has to be in it.

Be safe - take care of Insurance!

For the Au Pair and the host family, it is really important that the participant can have a save stay in the host country. For that reason it is really important to get a health, accident and liability insurance. The Au Pair should get this insurance before the visa application, since the embassy might ask for a proof of insurance during the application process.

The applicant should pay for the insurance by himself/herself.

Au Pair contract and insurance in Australia Read More »

Au Pair in Australia: visa requirements for participants Read More »

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