When you register as a host family, please read our Terms & Conditions first before you apply and let us know if you have any questions.?
After we have received your application form, we will give you a call to interview you and ask additional questions. This is also a great opportunity to get to know each other. We will explain a bit more who we are and what we do and will answer any questions. Our phone time are 9 am to 12 pm Monday to Friday. We will also call 2 references you provide us with.?
Registration is free. However, after you have sent the application form, you are liable to pay the program fee. This fee exists of 2 parts: a non refundable deposit of NZ$190 and a fully refundable placement fee (based on the duration an au pair is required). The placement fee is valid for 6 months and will be refunded if no au pair can be placed within this time frame. Eg. If you require an au pair with a specific start date and APNZ cannot assist and you take a temporary au pair, you have the right to get an au pair after your temporary au pair finishes if it is within the 6 months time frame. There will be no refund if you decide to go ahead with an au pair from a different agency, sources your own au pair or decide that you no longer need an au pair by APNZ or change your mind within the 6 months time frame.
Au Pairs need to prove their childcare experience and ability to work as an au pair both physically and mentally and have to provide us with a copy of their criminal record, medical check, childcare and character references?and copies of their (international) driving licence, passport, visa and other relevant documents such as eg. a first aid certificate where applicable. They are also interviewed by Au Pair New Zealand or our partners. You also have a chance to interview a potential au pair for your family and ask any questions prior to making a decision and we strongly advise you to ask anything you wish to know before entering a contract with them.
After your payment, we will send you full profiles of the au pairs your are interested in. If you wish to go ahead with any of them, we will send them your full profile.?If there is a mutual interest, we’ll send you each other?s contact details. We find it important that you take your time to find out if you are suitable for each other prior to committing, but have a standard procedure in place to make the placement as smooth and efficient as possible:
1 Upon agreeing your mutual interest, you have 3 days to establish contact with your Au Pair. If no contact has been made, we will suggest the au pair to other families.?
2 Once you have established contact, we advise you to email each other and arrange a first Skype interview within 5 days. During the first interview, you can ask your potential au pair any possible questions. You are welcome to contact us if you need advice on which questions to ask. ?
3 When there is a match between you and the au pair, we suggest a second Skype meeting within the next 5 days, where the au pair has a chance to meet all family members if this was not arranged during the initial interview. This can be with your children and / or the au pair’s parents.?
We expect you to make a decision within 2 weeks after the initial contact.?
The time it takes to find an au pair varies and depends on the time of the year and preferences of both parties.
The Terms & Conditions are your legal agreement with Au Pair Zealand. As you are the au pair’s employer, you enter an employment contract with them. We will also send you an au pair – host family agreement based on the?International Au Pair Association?s Guidelines.?The Au Pair shall wait to book their flight until you have signed your part of the contract. The arrival date shall be discussed together. ?
An au pair comes on a Working Holiday Visa.?There are differences between countries when it comes to the duration an au pair can legally stay with your family. It is your responsibility and in your own interest that an au pair is legally staying in your family.?
You will discuss a suitable arrival time with your au pair as you are responsible to pick them up from the airport. The au pair will book their flight once they have received the signed employment contract and au pair – host family agreement If an au pair is already in New Zealand, you can discuss the nearest airport, bus stop or train station.?
It is important that your au pair has a chance to have a few days of rest (we recommend 3) prior to starting their job so they can get over jet lag and acclimatise to both a new culture, home environment and people they do not know. As the majority of our?au pairs arrive from the other side of the world and have been traveling for 25 to 30 hours, the first few days can be quite overwhelming as for most of them it is also the first time they are very far from home for a long time. ??
We will stay in touch with you and your au pair during their stay and are available during our phone time Monday to Friday between 9 am and 12 pm on 04 889 23 17. We do ask you to help your au pair with getting organised and assisting them with the following:
We mediate between you and your au pair in case a communication breakdown happens and will only share information that you want us to share. It is important that you understand that we act in each party?s best interest and that you can get in touch at any time.?In the event that you and your au pair cannot come to an agreement, we will help you find a replacement free of charge if applicable, as described in our Terms and Conditions.?