Unless you're sitting on one heck of a trust fund or you've just won the lottery, Australia is pretty impossible to travel long-term without working. I worked lots of different types of jobs during my first year down under – hospitality jobs in a theatre and a bar, I got my hands dirty working on a farm, I even became a sales manager! Talk about variety, but one experience stood out above all the rest, for all the wrong reasons. You always hear about backpackers taking an au pair jobs while in Australia - for some it makes them brave enough to move over here having a job already lined up through an agency. For others, it's a nice break from hostels and a chance to have your own room and live with a family for a while. It can be a great way to get childcare experience for those hoping to work in this industry, or in teaching, in the long run, but it can sometimes be totally different to what you expected.
My time as a nanny was without doubt the worst job I have ever worked in my life. I had never once underestimated the workload I would be taking on, the fact that I wasn't that keen on children or what the job would entail, and yet I was still horrified by my own experiences. Saying some of it out loud to friends really showed me quite how much I put up with while I was there, and because of this, I wanted to write this post so that other backpackers travelling Australia will be a bit more prepared than I was. I'm not just going to focus on my terrible experiences, because that's just not fair, I know several people who have had amazing experiences working as au pairs for really lovely families, but I also know some who have really struggled. This post is here to give you all the information so you can make a decision for yourself whether the job is for you, and to know what to do if it doesn't work out.
My experience
"I worked as an au pair for three months in Charleville - we're talking 800km west of Brisbane - which was an incredible opportunity to experience real outback Aussie life. I took the job at the last minute when I struggled to find anything else and on first glance it looked like a good opportunity. It offered me $300 a week plus my own annex, food, gym membership and car/scooter access. I was looking after two boys (6 & 7) who were at school during the day, when I would have cleaning tasks to complete – I would get them ready for school and do drop-offs, then look after them after school, take them to their activities and prepare dinners. It sounded like the dream job for an au pair, but the reality was very different.
"I was never told that one of the children I would be looking after had special needs and with limited experience of looking after children I think this was vital information. This child actually turned out to be the most precious, he was loving and kind and sweet, and once we settled in he was great to look after. Saying goodbye to him was hard after several months together. The other child however, was spoilt, overindulged by his parents who were never there, he bullied his brother and was violent towards me. I don't blame the child for one second, but the constant changeover of nannies in the home plus a lacklustre attitude to parenting hadn't helped. Neither had the way his mother spoke to me, which he keenly imitated.
"Every day I would be kicked, punched, slapped, pinched and spoken to like I was worthless by both child and adult. I would be told I should be dead because everyone hated me, or that I was selfish and lazy. I worked 12-14 hour days dealing with every body fluid going, scrubbing, cleaning and cooking for the family and most nights I would finish late, sometimes several hours after I was supposed to finish.
"The family had no respect for their home, it was filthier than most hostels I have stayed in and they would constantly throw rubbish everywhere. Their menagerie of animals would leave trails of droppings across the floor and would piss on the carpets. One weekend, I had cleaned the house on the Friday and left it spotless, the family went on holiday that Sunday and left me to do a deep clean of the house. When I went in on the Sunday, there was rotting food laying all over the kitchen, there was rubbish everywhere, clothes scattered, shit on the floor, there was no end of filth in a house that had been pristine less than 48 hours earlier. It was this spiteful behaviour that became my daily life.
"There are some even worse things including abuse over social media that I won't share on here, but I want you guys to understand, I worked my arse off for this family and was treated terribly. It makes me really sad that I never got to experience the amazing bond you can get with some families as an au pair, but I could have done no more to make that happen. Despite this, my outback experience was one I will never forget for the amazing people I did meet along the way, it's just a shame my working life left so much to be desired."
Holly's experience
Holly is an English girl I met while I was working as an au pair, she was a real rock through my three months there and helped keep me sane on many an occasion. She was also working as an au pair for a local family but had a completely different experience to mine. Read on to find out about her job:
"I found the job on Gumtree, I must have applied for around 50 nanny jobs in total and only two ever replied! The one I got and another one prior to that but decided this one was a better fit! I worked for a family in Charleville, in outback Queensland. I was only supposed to work there for three months but ended up staying with the family for over a year, and even moved towns with them!
"I didn't get a very big wage which was the only thing I didn't really like about the job, I worked from 7am till 9pm, six days a week so it was long days and very intense! I got $300 a week which doesn't sound like much at all but I was quite lucky because my family paid for me to live in a house in town, I ate with them 6 days a week and they also provided me with a car and fuel (mainly for work purposes but I could use it in town socially) so the money I earned I got to spend on what I wanted.
"I looked after twin girls, they were five months old when I arrived and 17 months by the time I left, so I saw them change and grow up so much while I was there including crawling, first steps. I was pretty much their second mother, my involvement with that family was pretty intense. I cooked, washed, cleaned, fed, changed, bathed, shopped, played all day! Some days I had the twins just by myself which was hard work and other days the mother and I both looked after them.
"I honestly LOVED this experience. Charleville is so out of the way its not somewhere your average backpacker would've stumbled across but I'm so glad I did. I love the town and have made some great friends through it, and the bond I had with the family is one that I think will last a long time. Obviously not everything was perfect, things rarely are but on a whole I wouldn't have changed this experience at all. At least I can say I'm prepared for my own children now. And I don't think I ever would have done a lot of the things I have if I hadn't come out here, I can't say going to a rodeo or mustering cattle was ever high on my list of things to do but I did them out here!
"What advice do I have for other people interested in doing something like this? Say yes to everything! Life is too short to say no or be too scared, especially when you're going to a completely new town by yourself. Just be brave and get stuck in! Enjoying yourself is the most important part!"
Coping with your au pair job:
You might get lucky and have an amazing experience like Holly, or you might suffer like I did, but if things don't turn out the best with your au pair job - here's how to cope:
- Try and have a Skype chat with the people you will be working for before you actually go there, it can help put your mind at ease and prepare you a little.
- Make sure your job role is clearly outlined before you start - hours working, what your package (accommodation/food/transport) will include.
- Nanny jobs can often be found on Gumtree instead of through agencies - this can be a good way of finding work. But make sure you vet them as much as possible beforehand - safety above all else and never go to an outback job without letting someone know where you'll be.
- Be prepared to work long hours and have a job that will take over your life, but also make sure you have boundaries and allow yourself to have nights completely off from the job.
- Make sure you get your pay - don't leave any outstanding when you leave as some will try to get out of paying you.
- Make sure you get payslips and if you have to drive a vehicle for them, make sure you are insured.
- Try and raise any problems - if you feel confident enough - with the family and see if they are open to discussion.
- Don't be afraid to say no - you're an employer, not a slave.
- If you're somewhere outback, make the effort to get to know people in the closest town, don't be stuck out on your own with a crappy job. My friends got me through three months of that job - I couldn't have done it without them.
- If you're going very rural - check out this post I wrote on 18 things you learn from working in the Australian outback
- If you're in the outback or somewhere secluded and don't feel safe, contact a friend or someone who can offer advice and get you out of there.
- If you're with an agency, contact them and raise concerns, see if they can transfer you to another family.
- If you're doing it for a second year visa and think you can battle through, see if you can stick it out, don't risk finding an even worse employer and losing the hours you have worked.
If you need any advice or have any questions about au pair work, leave a comment below or message me on Facebook or Twitter.
Have you worked as an au pair in Australia -what was your experience like? Where else in the world have you worked as a nanny?
