Cost of a Nanny?

[Me+Three]

For a whole range of reasons related to be a single working mum, I am considering getting a Nanny for my 3 kids (8, 6 & 3) to help out with before and after school care. I am concerned about the cost though and whether I could still get CCB and the CCB rebate. (They are currently in after school care but we have no before school care available).

Does anyone know if you still get CCB if you use a Nanny? Or if you can still get the rebate every 3 months?

How much would you expect to pay for a Nanny? I would be looking at 1 - 1 1/2 hours before school 3 days a week and after school care for 3-4 hours, maybe 2 days a week, totalling maybe 12 hours a week.

We live walking distance to school/day care so the Nanny wouldn't have to drive them anywhere, s/he could just walk over to pick them up. I think I would also like some basic housework done, like folding washing or dinner prep. Do some Nanny's do that?

Any experiences with using/finding a Nanny, please feel free to share!

TIA.

[Jewels08]

It depends where you live really. I worked as a full time Nanny up until recently, in Sydney. I was earning $27-30 an hour gross.

For before and afterschool care here though, most girls earn about $16-20 an hour (unless that have a qualification or years of experience) Most of them are Uni students who work around classes. And you would only pay in cash since ifs for so few hours each week (and most Uni students are happy with this!)

There are heaps of families in a similar position as you... findababysitter.com.au is a great site. I found so many jobs on there and its so user friendly. I'd recommend at least having a look. You can even look at jobs in your area to see what other parents are paying etc.

With regards to duties, if you want a Nanny, you can really only ask them to do stuff related to the kids.. ie their dinner and their laundry. I used to do all of that stuff for the kids in my care, but mind you, I had many more hours in the day to get that done. Alot of parents pay for the Nanny to get to their house perhaps half hour before the kids are due home/to be picked up to allow the Nanny to prepare dinner/fold laundry so that the Nanny doesnt have to worry about doing that when they get home and she can spend her time with the kids. You'd hate to walk in and see the kids stuck in front of the telly because the Nanny is stressing about getting housework done lol.

As you can see, it's something I'm very passionate about! Not many people know alot about Nannies etc so I try to speak up for us all hehe

[Smurfette]

Here in Sydney it's anything from $18-$25 when I looked into it, and since it's for cash, they're not registered/accredited so you can't claim CCB/CCR for the fees unfortunately

I looked into it too for next year working shift work and I just can't afford it My whole pay would go to the fees. Good luck!

[Kylie123]

We used a nanny for the exact same reasons as you - before and after school care. I came across 2 major problems. Number1; finding someone who would commit to so few hours. It means that they can't accept full days elsewhere due to an hr or so in the morning and a couple of hrs an afternoon for me. I had 3 different girls start work with me only to last a few weeks then leave due to offers of more hrs elsewhere. 2nd problem was no CC rebate. I used to pay $20 an hr for 3 school-aged kids (this was 2 years ago). So on average I was out of pocket around $400-$500 a fortnight. In the end we had to change the kids' schools simply to access OOSH.

[Japh]

I was a nanny for a long time and had a few jobs where the families claimed CCB. You just need to find someone who is registered. I'm not sure about the finer details though - they paid my super and tax etc as it wasn't a cash job so you may need to do this too if you find someone registered.

[Loula]

Here in Sydney it's anything from $18-$25 when I looked into it, and since it's for cash, they're not registered/accredited so you can't claim CCB/CCR for the fees unfortunately

I looked into it too for next year working shift work and I just can't afford it My whole pay would go to the fees. Good luck!

just an aside that you may find helpful - when you are working shift work - you CAN get in-home care using an accredited agency AND get the CCB/CCR - doing the shift work entitles you to access this special service. Just need to know to ask for it - give family assistance a call and ask them about the in-home agencies locally that can provide it in your area...

[Jewels08]

If you find a carer who is registered with the family assistance office, you may claim CCB and one of the tax rebates, although they may not amount to much.

You only need to pay a nanny's super if they are working more than 30 hours per week, so you don't need to worry about that.
You either run them through the books(if you have an abn) and pay their tax for them, and this would enable you to claim both benefits.
If you are only paying them cash in hand (for which they might be willing to accept a slightly lesser rate) then you cannot claim any benefits as there's no paper trail, so to speak.

Could you consider splitting the cost with another parent/family? They might be able to drop their child off in the morning/pick up at night, and you could both split the cost?

[Jewels08]

If you find a carer who is registered with the family assistance office, you may claim CCB and one of the tax rebates, although they may not amount to much.

You only need to pay a nanny's super if they are working more than 30 hours per week, so you don't need to worry about that.
You either run them through the books(if you have an abn) and pay their tax for them, and this would enable you to claim both benefits.
If you are only paying them cash in hand (for which they might be willing to accept a slightly lesser rate) then you cannot claim any benefits as there's no paper trail, so to speak.

Could you consider splitting the cost with another parent/family? They might be able to drop their child off in the morning/pick up at night, and you could both split the cost?

ETA: just re-read OP- could you keep the kids in afterschool care and just do the mornings? You could be lucky to find a student who wants to do that, or a grandma in the local area? It may mean paying $20-30 for the morning but thats alot cheaper than having one there in the afternoons as well.

[Smurfette]

just an aside that you may find helpful - when you are working shift work - you CAN get in-home care using an accredited agency AND get the CCB/CCR - doing the shift work entitles you to access this special service. Just need to know to ask for it - give family assistance a call and ask them about the in-home agencies locally that can provide it in your area...

OMG I can't believe I forgot about this. I think someone told me about this AGES ago. My major problem is getting her to preschool/school and back though. Might give them a call, thank you!!!

[Loula]

OMG I can't believe I forgot about this. I think someone told me about this AGES ago. My major problem is getting her to preschool/school and back though. Might give them a call, thank you!!!

yeah, that was me that mentioned it another time!! I was previously doing shift work too, and was amazed it existed - no one seems to know about it!! I think you should be able to get that kind of help you are after too - when i looked into it, a lot of the agencies that were "in-home" providers were basically nanny agencies, so i'm pretty sure they would do pick-ups and drop-off's.