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Q:

I am a mummy nanny. Why do i have to pay to register?

A:

As a nanny with a child yourself, you are basically a family wanting to share the care of your child with someone elses. Regular nannies do not have to pay as they do not get access to our member database and contact details of families. A family would only start looking at our regular nannies after they have found another family to share with - and that would overlook you! We ask our families when they register if they would consider a mummy nanny to look after their child/ren. Once you register, you will get the contact details of the families who said yes and they will get to see that you have a child in tow.

Q:

Is it important to keep my details up to date?

A:

Up to date data is very important to us and our registered families. There is no point having your details logged to our database if they are outdated. Once you have located a job please let us know via email so we can remove your details from our database. If your required "start date" is more than 4 months old your details will be automatically removed from our database. Of course you will be able to re-register again at any time.  So for all our Nannies registered please ensure you check back each month and update your required start dates. For example, if you originally input a preference to commence work in January 2009 and by April 2009 your start date has never been updated, your details will be automatically removed from our database.

Q:	I have registered but I can't logon - why?
A:	Please note that your registration will go through a back-office approval process which means that your logon and password will not be active immediately. This is typically completed within 24 hours at which time you are able to logon.

Q:

What is a Mummy Nanny and what is their cost per hour?

A:

Mummy Nannies are essentially Nannies who have had several years of experience, had a child of their own, and are wishing to return to Nannying with their own child in tow. A Mummy Nanny will care for your child, and her own, in either home as agreed at a discounted rate to the standard Nanny rates. Typically at present this is around $12 per hour. Professional Mummy Nannies will spend equal time with all children in their care. The arrangement is beneficial to both parties by: Enabling the Mummy Nanny to take their child to work with them each day along with their food, nappies and portacot Encouraqing stimulation of all children by having playmates and the development of friendships Eliminating the sometimes costly and time-consuming exercise of finding, interviewing and hiring a Nanny

Q:	How can families locate me?
A:	Registered members of NSC have the ability to run a search, by region, of Nannies willing to work in those areas. If families are registered with NSC, selected profile and contact details are made available online to these families who perform online searches. None of your contact details are available to non-members.

Q:	What Nanny information will families be provided with when they run a Nanny search?
A:	The following results will appear when a Nanny search is performed and relates specifically to the region selected: First Name Mobile Number Email address Days available Date available Current Drivers Licence - Yes or No Current First Aid Certificate - Yes or No No of years experience Formal qualifications - Yes or No ABN Registered - Yes or No

Q:	What is your refund policy?
A:	We do not normally give refunds. Please make sure that there are members in your area before you sign up by using the free trial search on our homepage. If there are no members currently in your area, contact us, and we can keep your details on file until things change.

Q:

Should we create an Employment Contract for our Nanny?

A:

NSC suggests a contract be created, and whilst not required by law, it does engage you and your Nanny in a discussion about their role with you, their remuneration and holiday and sick pay. Think of it as a form of protection for both parties if future issues arise — then you can refer to it later if you need to resolve an issue. Your contract should also have information about: Work hours (for example from 7.30 a.m. to 6 p.m.) Benefits payable and excluded (paid holidays, vacation, sick leave etc.) Wages and pay schedule (ie amount and frequency) Duties (ie taking your child to and from Ballet on Thursdays etc, what the child is expected to do in the daily routine - ie make bed, pick up shoes etc)  Special situations (For example, if you must stay late at work, you'll pay $5 per hour above and beyond your nanny's usual fee, or if she's sick, she must call you by 7:30 a.m.) Agreement about evening work (Many employers assume their nanny will be available for evening babysitting jobs, but it's important to agree on this ahead of time. If your nanny has children of her own this may be difficult for her, and you'll need to agree on a supplemental fee for evening jobs.) Emergency fallback (For example, she should call Nanna and drop your children off to her.) Sample contracts can be found by performing an intenet search.

Q:

If we hire our own private nanny or a Mummy Nanny would we still be entitled to the 30% Govt rebate?

A:

The 30 % rebate (which is means tested) applies to approved formal care (ie long day care centres etc) and not to ‘registered’ care provided by nannies in your home. A separate rebate is applicable for registered care (ie ABN registered nannies) and at this stage is minimal and is means tested. The minimum you will receive is detailed at the following site and is currently $0.48 cents per hour with a weekly maximum of $24.15 per child. http://www.familyassist.gov.au/internet/fao/fao1.nsf/content/payments-ccb-how_much-what_registered_care.htm

Q:

After running a search and seeing my matches what are my next steps?

A:

From this point it is up to you if you wish to make further contact (via the details provided) and discuss partnering with any of the families listed. We suggest you initially have a phone discussion and if this sounds positive, meet for a coffee, then proceed to viewing each other's houses, prior to forming a share arrangement. We also recommend documenting your arrangement in case any issues arise in the future. Keep in mind some families form successful matches even if their number of days required are not identical to yours, so do not eliminate these families from your options. NSC makes family details available to you even if the number of days are not identical.

Q:	Can I be assured of finding a match?
A:	Obviously NSC cannot guarantee to find you a match. There are many factors to consider covering the suitability of the family and their requirements, location that you live and of course whether you have a good gut feeling about the partner family. As a general indication, approximately 80% of the families on our database are provided with details of potential partner families.

Q:

What are your matching categories for families?

A:

All reports will categorise matches into the following matching classifications: Platinum - A Platinum Match represents a match between two families where the registration criteria is a 90 - 100% match. For example you and your 'matched' family have identical requirements for preferred location, number of days, number of hours required, start date for a Nanny, etc. Gold - A Gold Match represents a match between two families where the registration criteria is a 70 - 90% match. Silver - A Silver Match represents a match between two families where the registration criteria is a 50 - 70% match. Cultural / Ex-Pat - A Cultural / Ex-Pat Match represents families that have been matched based on location, language, and / or religious beliefs.

Q:

What information will I see on the matching reports?

A:

All reports will retain our member's privacy by advising only :         A First Name (of the potential partner family)         Mobile phone number (to enable you to call then directly and        discuss your own situations)         Home Suburb         Number of days care required         Child Age (s) and gender         Required Start Date for a share arrangement         Matching category (ie Platinum/Gold/Silver)

Q:

Can NSC find me a Nanny?

A:

NSC is not a Nanny Agency, however we do have an online database of Nannies available who wish to work in a Nanny-Share environment.  This is accessible as an online search by all families who are registered members of NSC. No reference checking of these nannies has occurred and we ask families to perform any checking they require prior to employing one of these nannies from our database. This is just another free service to our members meaning you can save on the typical Nanny Agency costs to find a Nanny (usually between $500 - $1,500). Alternatively NSC also has alliances with selected reputable agencies and online services to provide our members with the ability to source a Nanny quickly, easily and cost-effectively. Many of these agencies offer discounts to NSC members and these details are available once you register as a member with NSC.

Q:	Are any checks performed on Mummy Nannies registered with NSC?
A:	No reference checking of Mummy Nannies is performed by NSC. All Mummy Nannies are registered the same as any other family wishing to form a share arrangement. During initial discussions with potential partner families, we ask Mummy Nannies to disclose their intentions and provide references to the other family.

Q:	What if I don’t need a membership for the minimum term of 3 months?
A:	Once you are successful in finding a partner family or have elected to pursue alternative arrangements, you have the ability to place your membership on hold preserving any unused portion of your membership. This can be reactivated at any time you require in the future along with any profile updates you may require.

Q:

How do we split the costs?

A:

Cost apportioning is different depending on the arrangement so it is really up to you and your partner family to determine an appropriate arrangement and documenting this. If your nanny is working part-time in each home, then each parent may want to pay her for her part-time work separately. If your nanny takes care of all the children full-time you need to consider the ages of your children, and the time required to take care of them.  For instance, if you both have one child and the nanny spends equal time with them the costs would be split 50/50.   If, however, you have an infant and the other couple has a 5 year old, you should pay a higher portion of the salary given the baby's care will take up much more time than the care of the 5 year old.  If your partner family has 2 children and you have one, all relatively the same ages, they should pay proportionately more, and so on. Other considerations are wear and tear on the home, provision of nappies and food etc.

Q:	Is the Nanny usually “Live-Out” in a Nanny Share arrangement?
A:	Yes - we are unaware of any circumstances where a live-in Nanny has been required.

Q:	How do we deal with childhood illnesses in a Nanny-Share arrangement?
A:	If you are sharing on a full-time basis, one of you may occasionally have to make alternative arrangements if one child is ill-you may be happy to share colds, but few parents want a tummy upsets passed on. Even day care centres and schools ask that you do not expose children with tummy bugs to others for at 24 hours. In any case if your child is ill, you may prefer to be with him anyway.

Q:	Why can’t I register on your site for free?
A:	We want to attract families genuinely looking for a Nanny-Share arrangement and offerring free registration encourages families who may not actively be looking for a partner family. Periodically we may run promotions for discounted or free memberships in selected regions.

Q:	What is the ideal number of children in a Nanny-Sharing scenario?
A:	Where simultaneous Nanny Sharing occurs we suggest a maximum number of 3 children being cared for by 1 Nanny, in one house.  Often families each have 1 child and come together resulting in a Nanny/child ratio of 1:2, often families with 2 children partner with another family resulting in a 1:3 ratio.

Q:	How should we insure ourselves for any accidents that may occur?
A:	We suggest families obtain Domestic Workers Insurance, which is usually a low cost add-on policy to your standard home insurance, and covers you in the event of injury in your home, or on their way to/from work. Contact your current insurer for further details or the workcover website for your state.

Q:

What checks should we perform on a Nanny to ensure their credentials are legitimate?

A:

Many families chose to employ a Nanny via a Nanny Agency who (at a cost) will complete a range of reference checks. Alternatively families may choose to directly interview and employ a Nanny themselves to save on these costs. We suggest families doing this ensure they perform the following checks - National Police clearance, Criminal history check (ie theft, fraud, drug history), Driving history check (if your Nanny will drive your children to/fro),  Working with children check, Current First Aid Certificate (ie St John Ambulance Paediatric/Caring for Kids First Aid Certificate (these expire every 3 years).

Q:

What other employment benefits will we need to consider?

A:

The following is a guide only to your responsibilities as an employer of a Nanny. Superannuation - Nannies who work more than 30 hours per week are entitled to Superannuation which is currently 9% on top of their regular pay. Holiday Pay and Sick leave - Minimum entitlements for full and part-time workers differ dependent on the State you live in. Further info can be found at www.wagenet.gov.au Salary and Tax components - further information can be found at www.ato.gov.au however in summary you are required to give your Nanny salary advices and PAYG payment summaries, and submit PAYG tax.

Q:

If I choose to find a Nanny via a Nanny Agency what placement fees will they charge me?

A:

This differs across agencies and is usually structured based upon the number of days you wish to employ a Nanny.  Some agencies charge around $500 for a 1 day placement and up to $1,500 for a 5 day placement. This covers all police and background checks, interviewing of the Nanny and determining the most appropriate one for you. Alternatively some agencies charge a placement fee embedded into an ongoing per hour charge for the Nanny. They will invoice you for the services of the Nanny each month and take their fees out of this before paying the Nanny their salary.

Q:	What will it cost me to hire a Nanny vs Nanny Sharing?
A:	Typically it will cost families between $16-$24 per hour (dependent on which State you live) to employ a Nanny based on experience and qualifications. Families wishing to enter into a share arrangement will pay approximately $12 per hour each.

Q:

How long does it normally take to find a match?

A:

In terms of time taken to find a match this is very difficult to answer due to the nature of our business. It is very dependent on the families joining, your needs, and the ‘feeling’ between the families when contact is made. Obviously it is important to have a good ‘gut feel’.  You need to be happy and comfortable with your ‘share’ family and joining up to 12 months in advance of your return to work date gives you the opportunity to be matched with families in your area. This would give you plenty of lead time to find that ‘right’ family.