The large majority [84 per cent] reported that their experience met or exceeded their expectations and three quarters said they would recommend it to others from their country, although some families appeared to be taking liberties with the cheap labour. The most commonly reported problem was being asked to work more than expected, followed by being asked to perform different tasks than expected. Unusual tasks included educating a puppy, painting a fence, chauffeuring the parents and organising Lego into size and shapes in the cellar. One au pair reported that the host parents had left her at home for two weeks with their 18-month-old child, for no extra pay, while they went on an overseas holiday. UTS law academic Laurie Berg said au pairs and families were confused when it came to their rights and responsibilities in terms of tax, insurance and minimum rates of pay because of the differing approaches by government departments.

The Immigration Department considers au pairs to be workers - and the majority hold working holiday visas - but the Australian Tax Office and Fair Work Ombudsman are opaque on when a cultural exchange becomes an employment contract. UTS law lecturer Laurie Berg. "Our findings, in terms of the sorts of work that au pairs are doing, the number of hours that au pairs are doing and regularity of their pay, are that in most cases they meet the threshold for employees under the law and those employment rights need to be observed," Dr Berg said. "When things go wrong I think it really crystallises." Such rights included paying minimum rates of pay, withholding au pairs' tax, paying superannuation and ensuring compliance occupational health and safety requirements.

Among those placements that ended early, a quarter of families gave the au pair no notice and a further 46 per cent gave them less than a week. Smart Au Pairs director Nicole Kofkin said she had been trying for years to get guidance from the ATO and Fair Work Ombudsman on what type of arrangements were considered employment so she could advise families, but has been told consistently that it depends on the individual case. The Cultural Au Pairs Association of Australia is lobbying the government to introduce a dedicated au pair visa with clear conditions to protect the workers and their families, she said. "It does need to be more regulated," Ms Kofkin said. "We talk to the ATO, we talk to Fair Work, we talk to Immigration because we want to do the right thing."

Swedish au pair Erika Palsson, 19, said that after interviews with several prospective host families, she accepted Tracey Hirschhorn's job offer based on her promise to include Erika in family life. "My first question was whether I was considered an employee or a family member, and as soon as she said I was going to be a family member that's when I decided," Erika said. She works 30 hours per week looking after children aged seven, four and nine months, for $250 plus board, food and the cost of eating out or attending events with the family. The need for affordable childcare underpins demand for au pairs, especially among families with more than one child and workers with non-standard hours, such as emergency services. Federal reforms to childcare subsidies introduced in July mean many high income households now receive less public support for services such as long daycare. There are signs these changes have also stoked demand for au pairs.

But the UTS study found au pairing is “an extraordinarily insecure form of childcare” because one third of participants’ first placements ended early. Also, the quality of childcare provided by au pairs is unlikely to match that on offer in an established childcare centre with trained staff. The quality of childcare with au pairs is unlikely to match a qualified centre with staff. Credit:Gabriele Charlotte “I don’t think many families are sufficiently well informed about the choices they are making,” said Samantha Page, chief executive if Early Childhood Australia, a childcare advocacy group. “They don’t realise just how much children benefit from being in a quality-assured early education setting.”