Hosting an Au Pair in New Zealand

Are you living in New Zealand and looking to host an au pair? You’ve come to the right place. Find out more about becoming an au pair host family in New Zealand.

Criteria to host an Au Pair in New Zealand

Are you a family living in New Zealand and looking to host an au pair? Butrfly explains the requirements for becoming an au pair host family in New Zealand.

How do I qualify?

The au pair program is a cultural exchange program in which young foreigners learn English in exchange for childcare services.

It enables young people to learn a language through courses and to visit the country through activities. The au pair is provided with accommodation, food, clothing and remuneration in return for hours of childcare.

New Zealand regulates the hosting of au pairs by New Zealand families. By agreeing to host an au pair, the family chooses to integrate the au pair as a member of the family.

Before taking on an au pair, the family must ensure that their nationality is eligible for a Working Holiday visa. The number of visas issued for New Zealand each year is limited for some families. This visa allows the au pair to stay from 6 to 23 months in New Zealand, but the au pair can only stay for 12 months with one or more families.

Find out more about how to host an au pair in New Zealand.

Check-list de la famille ✅

Check-list de votre logement ✅

Check-list organisationnelle ✅

New Zealand host family, join the BUTRFLY network

For more information on these conditions 👇

Conditions générales

You must be able to cover all expenses related to hosting an au pair.

Salaries range from $220 to $290 per week. You may also have to contribute to your au pair’s language course fees.

To host an au pair in New Zealand, a contract must be drawn up between the family and the au pair. To enter New Zealand, au pairs need a Working Holiday Visa, which allows them to stay legally in the country. This visa is issued for a minimum period of 24 months. To obtain it, the au pair must have a comprehensive insurance policy valid for the duration of his/her stay. We recommend that you take out additional insurance to cover medical expenses, civil liability and accidents.

If one of your children is under the age of 3 when your au pair arrives, one of the parents must be at home.

Conditions pour le logement

The room provided for the au pair must measure at least 9m². It must also be furnished and have a window to let in daylight and a door with a lock to give the au pair some privacy.

You also give the au pair access to a bathroom.

The au pair cannot share a room with the children, only the bathroom.

Conditions d'organisation du séjour

Contract

New Zealand considers au pairs to be employees, so a contract must be signed between the host family and the au pair to define the au pair’s duties, working hours and days off.

Work and free time

In New Zealand, there is no specific legislation governing the au pair program. The au pair may work up to 45 hours a week, the limit set by New Zealand law. As mentioned above, in New Zealand au pairs are considered employees, which entitles them to weekends off. When contracting the au pair’s stay, it’s important to establish the times when they’ll be working, as well as their free time. The family may ask the au pair to work on a weekend, in which case the au pair will receive pocket money based on the number of days worked and the rate established in advance.

Au pairs are entitled to 4 weeks’ paid vacation for a 12-month stay, as well as time off on public holidays, in which case the family must continue to pay the au pair pocket money.

You must give your au pair plenty of free time to attend language courses. She is responsible for the course fees, but you can help her find a language school near your home.

🦋 Advice: We recommend that you discuss the future timetable with your au pair.

On your dashboard, you have access to all the tasks that your future au pair will be able to carry out as part of his/her contract with you. Check only those you wish to entrust to the au pair. In general, an au pair can :

Look after your children, take them to school or to activities, walk them and play with them.
Help keep the house clean and do small chores.
Prepare breakfast and simple meals.
Look after your house and pets (if you have any).

Host an Au Pair by becoming a host family with BUTRFLY

Testimonials 👇

Read the testimonials of our host families and Au Pairs.

Relevance of matches. We've used Butrfly now for 3 years in a row to find our au pairs, from South Africa, Germany and the USA. Each time, the team was able to find us the rare pearl by listening to our expectations. What a time saver compared to other services! Thank you!!!

Great experience. Butrfly helped us recruit our 1st au pair. We were in an emergency situation and were delighted with the service and support. The profiles selected are really great. I highly recommend Butrfly.

Butrfly was able to understand our expectations and the way our family functioned, so as to offer us the best profile. And the support doesn't stop there, as the team is always available. The principle of videoconferencing between families to discuss our questions is also a real plus!

Butrfly saved us! After going through Aupair World and finding the wrong person, Butrfly found us a gem! Highly recommended!

Very good experience with Butrfly. We found an Au Pair for next year, and we were very pleasantly assisted in our search.

We are very happy with our experience. Our au pair is very pleasant, participates in family life and gets on very well with our children. Butterfly manages the introductions efficiently and then follows up on the file.

What our families have to say

Listen to the testimonials of the guests on the podcast La Grande Famille, hosted by Manuela Dizier-Chanfreau.

You’ll find feedback and valuable advice on hosting an au pair from entrepreneurial moms.