What to Expect

You must have a minimum of 200 referenced hours of childcare, but this can cover basically anything related to children! For example, internships or work in daycare centres, schools, nurseries, children's nurses, camp counsellors, sports coaches, babysitting or tutoring. Caring for family members is also great experience and should be included on your application, however it won’t be counted as childcare hours.

An Au Pair is a young person who comes to Australia from another country to provide childcare and related in-home support in exchange for experiencing life with an Australian family. The Host Family will supply room, board and pocket money for the duration of the placement.

All AIFS Au Pairs will need to help with light household duties that are childcare related, such as tidying the children's room, making their beds, preparing light lunches, cleaning up the kitchen after the preparation of meals or doing the laundry. An Au Pair’s primary role, however, is childcare.

We have Host Families all over Australia! Many are in popular places such as the major cities, but we also have placements in rural and outback Australia. 

Ultimately finding the perfect family should take priority over living in your desired location, so try to keep that in mind. If you really want to go to a specific area, we will try and accommodate your needs, however we cannot guarantee this. Please remember that specific requests for location may result in us taking a little longer than usual to arrange your placement.

When applying to AIFS Au Pair in Australia, you will need consider the fees for our application and placement services. In addition, you should also factor in the cost of obtaining the following:

• Police check ($17.95 USD or £54 GBP)
• Australian Work & Holiday Visa ($640 AUD)
• Medical Report (cost varies)
• Working with Children Check (cost varies from $80-160 AUD)
• Whooping cough booster vaccination (approx. $50 USD)
• Flights (cost varies)
• Insurance (cost varies)

You can apply to AIFS Au Pair all year round as we have placements that start almost every week! We usually need a minimum of 6 weeks to get you through the application process, placed and out to Australia, but if you need a little more time that’s fine. Most people apply about 6 months in advance, but you can book up to a whole year in advance!

There are many websites offering Au Pair services for free. However, what these sites don’t offer is safety and support. All AIFS Host Families go through a rigorous screening process before being accepted, so you have peace of mind knowing you are travelling to a safe place.

During your placement, you will have access to a dedicated Community Counsellor and 24/7 emergency support – something online searches cannot offer you.

AIFS is also accredited by Child Wise, has over 60 years’ experience in cultural exchange, and has been offering Au Pair placements for over 30 years. We are a registered business in Australia with a physical office and a team of staff who are here to support you! 

Yes! If both you and your Host Family want to extend your placement, then we can sort all that out for you in Australia. 

Occasionally we may hear from an Au Pair that she/he is struggling in the placement. In this case an AIFS Community Counsellor will assist you and your family with trying to resolve the issue. If AIFS determines that the placement cannot be continued, we will provide assistance that may include placement with another Host Family, or the services of AIFS Work & Travel.