Nannies in Oz

[roary]

Eek. Looks very strongly like DH and I will be relocating to Perth. We have the most amazing nanny here (we both work FT) and I am really worried we're never going to be able to find a good nanny. Anyone know about this?

(Sadly lovely nanny can't move with us for family reasons).

We have au pairs rather than nannies as I've found them better ! But generally there are lots of keen lovely girls wanting to nanny in Australia. They can get a one year visa. There are also lots of Australian nanny agencies.

THanks - we are not live-in nanny types, although might have room in Perth and feel differently, which rules out au pairs for now. Our nanny is just so wonderful, very experienced in her 30s, find it hard to imagine ever replacing her which i suspect is the real problem!

Just bumping this up with some more specific questions - what is the nannying situation like in Australia? What I mean is: in Canada, for example, it is very difficult to find a native English speaking nanny, but most are older, experienced women. Where we live in the UK there are lots of experienced nannies, most English. OTher places it is mainly young girls. SO what's it like in Australia? We are trying to get a picture of what sort of nanny is the norm. (I am not opposed to any of these options, just trying to figure out what things will be like).

Nannies aren't the norm in Australia, sorry and au pairs are unheard of in most circles. Long day child care is much better (and more affordable!) than UK so most families do it that way. Have you honestly looked at it? You might be pleasantly surprised.

Also I sense you're beating around the bush on this topic... what you mean is, are there migrant nannies available? Australia has strongly discouraged unskilled immigration for many years now, so there isn't that pool of nannies/cleaners etc that you find in countries like HK and Singapore, or even in the UK which has lots of unskilled migrants.

HTH.

Hi Very
Nope, not asking about migrant nannies - would strongly prefer not to take that option for a variety of reasons, but I know it's the norm in a lot of places and I wondered if that were more common than other options. (oddly, in Canada, where skilled migration is also strongly encouraged there's a special program for nannies so lots of migrant nannies).

Can I ask which city you're in?

Long daycare also won't work for us, for a bunch of reasons, although I know it can be great. So we will have to keep our fingers crossed we can find something or persuade our current lovely nanny to come too!

Loads of people have nannies here in Sydney. They find them on findababysitter.com.au
Good luck

All the nannies I've encountered (playgroups, toddler reading time, that sort of thing) have been white, English-speaking, usually in their twenties. It is more rare here (I'm in Adelaide) but I believe they do go through formal training and are generally well qualified.

A friend had a nanny share arrangement, and paid I think about $80/day - now that was half the total, but I don't know if the total $160 was a flat rate or was higher because it was a share, if you see what I mean.

Child care is $60-$70/day anyway, so if you can find a share arrangement it could work out well.

Thanks, that's brilliant - just the sort of info we are looking for.

In Brisbane there are some professional nannies and then au pairs. Some families advertise for 'nannies' to live in, look after the kid in return for 'free' accommodation and a few hundered dollars a week. These are more au-pair roles I think.

Findababysitter.com.au have nanny profiles, just put in your post code and what kind of childcare you need and it will find potential nannies for you.

Im sure there are agencies you could use to. Gumtree?

Good luck finding some-one.

roary if you look on gumtree you will see alot of adverts for nannies/ au pairs. i disagree they are rare and ceryainly an au par is much better for us financially and practically than long day care that is so expensive! therre are nanny web sites, ive used the one mentioned above for short term cover and also dial an angel when we have been desperate.
i have just found that au pairs work really well as lots of people weant a safe base to live and work from.

Nannying as a career in Australia is quite rare. Most nanny position are part time and are only before and after scool care. I do not know any nannies here in Oz but I know lots in the UK.

Most people put their children into day care or before and after school care then have a nanny.

A good agency (and nanny college - where I trained) is Charlton Brown, but I would look at gumtree too.

What part of Perth are you moving to? I'm just outside Rockingham(45km south of Perth). Could ask around for you but haven't heard of any. Like others have said most go to day care

Thanks again for all these replies. We are going to be close to the centre of Perth, not sure where yet.

Chloeb are you in Perth? We may have to look again at au pairs or live-ins but it is not our preferred option. But hey, relocation is about compromise!

We will try Gumtree and all the usual routes, I just got the sense it was not as common as here.

One ofm y concerns about day care is that the places that we are looking at have enormously long waiting lists for under 2s and we will need full time care almost immediately after we arrive. Also having had a nanny we are most comfortable with that option.

hi roary no we are in brisbane. But i know of 4 families here who have au pairs and one look at gum tree etc will see just how many there are out here!
My current au pair is looking at going to perth next on her travels! and she has had a few families interested.
It is very tough getting good full time places and if your income is good ( so over 100k a year) you will get no help with fees and they add up!
We use aupair world to find au pairs and have had some great ones. I understand the compromise of having someone live in. unless i change my job we have no other choice and the luxury of having the children looked after at home is a big plus!

Having a nanny is not unusual in Sydney (in relatively affluent areas).
I know lots of people with nannies and lots of the ladies who babysit for us work as nannies during the day.
Lots of agencies to help you find a nanny if needed or try fndababysitter.com.au