Once you have completed and submitted the family online application. One of our Placement Specialists will review the nannies we have in-process that appear to be the most appropriate for your family. We email info to you on these nannies in the form of what we call the nanny's "Brief". A brief is the first few pages of the nanny's application where all the important demographic information is, as well as what the nanny has written to describe herself and also some of the nanny's references. After reviewing the nanny Brief, most parents will call the nanny directly to introduce themselves, ask the nanny questions & to discuss the position. Based on the telephone discussion, the parent will usually invite the nanny to meet with them. (This should happen sooner rather than later, as to wait a week to meet someone you are interested in may mean they will be hired by someone else in the meantime). Once you've met someone you are interested in, it is important to let him or her and us know you're interested.

All of our nannies have childcare experience although not necessarily as nannies, they may have worked in day care centers, some are parents of grown children, others have camp, school, or extensive (documented) babysitting experience.

We check the Criminal history  database as part of our screening process. We check and actually speak to three references (we don't just accept letters of recommendation, we always speak to references) and we encourage parents to also speak to references once they've decided to hire a nanny because parents may have different questions than what we routinely ask. We check each applicant's driving record to be sure they are a safe driver.

As part of our application we have a CHILDCARE KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT, a situational 3-part answer test which indicates what the applicant knows about caring for children. We require that applicants have childcare experience, however it doesn't mean that they have necessarily had nanny experience.

They must be at least 18 years old. The majority of our applicants are in their mid-twenties, some are older & have raised their own children.

They may not be from Australia, however they must have legal working papers, either Permanent residence or working holiday visa willing to commit for at least 12 months in order for the agency to consider them for placement.

Nannies will typically cost $20-$30 per hour. Plus any additional fees such as domestic worker’s insurance and superannuation. As a general guide, you can expect to pay in the low-$20s per hour for less experienced care, and in the high-$20s or low-$30s per hour for more experienced care.

Should anything go wrong within the first 3 months, Nanny Australia will replace the nanny at no additional fee. After that, the fee is prorated. (If a nanny became ill & had to leave after 3 months on the job, for instance, the family would receive a 3-month discount on a new nanny). The Agency does not charge any fees for nannies that stay longer than a year, and encourages nannies to do so.

Statistics on longevity have shown that our nannies stay for an average of 18 months. We do have nannies that have been in the jobs we've placed them in for several years. We have resources for parents on strategies for keeping nannies longer than a year, which are provided to families once they've hired one of our nannies.

The nanny's Position Description is broken down into 3 major categories,

• CARE: bathing, dressing, grooming, feeding, etc.
• ACTIVITIES: playgroups, outings, errands (grocery shopping), infant stimulation, etc.
• HOME HYGIENE; which is basically care of the environment, to keep it safe & clean. This includes floors in homes with crawling children, toy hygiene, laundry, meal prep & clean up. It does not include heavy housework e.g. toilets & ovens.

It depends largely on how available you are to speak to & interview nannies. It's important once you're in the process that you contact us with your impressions after receiving a nanny's Brief, otherwise we hold off in sending additional candidates to you. Parents who carve out the time to actively pursue the interview process generally hire a nanny more quickly than others who may only be able to meet or speak to nannies on weekends.

"Au pair" means on par with the Family. In other words an au pair is not a working professional and usually functions as a helper to a mother who does not work (outside the home). Au pairs are usually young 18-20 years old and are here to see the country, Their role, as a childcare provider is secondary to their interest in experiencing Australia.

A Nanny Australia on the other hand is trained as a professional, must have previous child care experience and also be willing to attend in-service training even after she receives her Professional Nanny Certification. All our nannies are citizens or have proper working papers. They are on a nanny career path or are "career nannies"

Nanny Australia provides a "Comfort period" after the nanny is hired. Within the comfort period you are entitled to a complete refund. The important thing is to spend the necessary amount of time interviewing nannies and spending some time with them before you hire them to be sure the person you hire is the right one for you. The Agency will replace a nanny at no additional fee within the first six months, provided there is a written work agreement between the family and the nanny.

It takes less than a week from the time you know who you want to hire, until everything is ready for her to start working!

Nanny Australia prides our ability to recruit great nannies using our personal connections, networking, including word-of-mouth referrals, and on-campus recruiting.

We fully investigate our nannies so you can rest assured that you are hiring someone you can trust. Our background checks cover references, work history, legal status, criminal record, driving records and TB/health status.

We hire the best in the business! Please submit your online application to be a nanny, and we’ll be in touch for more information.