Frequently Asked Questions

You need to be:

• between 18-30 years (18-year old’s must be mature as you will be taking care of children)
• Be eligible for a work holiday or student visa to NZ
• No criminal convictions
• Like children and have at least 200 hours of experience with them
• Ready to commit to the programme for at least 6 months
• Need to be energetic, friendly, hard-working, flexible and able to adapt to live and work with a family.
• Need to have good driving skills, as a lot of families will need you to pick and drop off their children.

Yes. Since you are working with children you will need to get a criminal record check. You will need to contact your local police station and fill in their forms.

The Programme Fee is NZD$800 or €500.

We have made every effort to be clear and transparent about the Programme Fee and all other costs that you might incur. Below is a list of the other costs that you may or may not inccur:

• ‘Proof of Funds’: NZD $4000 – to be able to apply for your working holiday visa
• Possible accommodation costs for first night in an Auckland Hotel – between $170 and $200 NZD
• New Zealand Police Check NZD $10
• Medical Certificate (check with your local doctor)
• Visa for New Zealand NZD $208 (this may vary depending on your nationality)
• Travel Insurance – NZD $70 per month. Total amount depends on the length of your time in New Zealand.

This is a tough question to answer. It all depends on how much experience you have with children, and how fast you finish all your documents and how efficient you are with interviewing Host Families. We however try to keep the time down to under 3 months from when you register.

We try our best to place you with a family, it is very rare what we won’t be able to place you. However, if you are a smoker or don’t have a driver’s license it makes it very hard to place you.

You will earn at least $180 or up to $295 per week after you begin working with your Host Family. Your wage depends on your experience and how many hours you work each week. In addition to your wage, your living expenses (like food, housing and bills) will be covered by the Host Family.

You need at least 200 hours of child care experience with children outside of your own family. This can include: teaching, day-care, sport coaching, volunteering, baby-sitting etc. The more experience with children under the age of 2 the better.

You get at least 2 days off a week. Your Host Family and yourself makes arrangement around when those 2 days will be, in most cases it will be Saturday and Sunday. You are also required to babysit one night a week.

Yes.
6 months placement: 2 weeks
9 months placement: 3 weeks
12 months placement: 4 weeks
You also get 2.5 days of paid sick leave for a 12 month placement, but it’s only available after 6 months of employment.

We do our best to make sure that you choose the right family from the beginning. If you do find yourself unhappy within the first 3 months, have a chat to your Host Family first and then contact Dream Au Pair to let them and us know how you feel. If you strongly want to change family, we can try rematch you with another family. Please note: it does take 6 weeks or so before an Au Pair is completely settled into a new family. We will not rematch you within the first 6 weeks.

New Zealand Host Families come in all shapes and sizes and live across New Zealand — from big cities like Auckland and Wellington to smaller, more suburban or rural towns. No matter where your new Host Family lives, you can be sure it’s a comfortable home where you will have your own room.

Living with a Kiwi Family — from Cape Reinga to Invercargill and everywhere in between — will give you an up-close experience of everyday life within an exceptional Kiwi family, while creating opportunities for you to teach people about your country and culture as well.

You will make new friends, and learn to live in a different country and culture. Become a stronger and more confident individual.

Being an Au Pair for a Kiwi Host Family is a serious job. You’ll need to be patient, kind, loving, and extremely responsible as you care for your Host Children. You’ll also need to communicate well with your Host Parents and make sure that they trust your child care abilities. You will be welcomed as a new international member of the family and your relationship with your Host Family will develop over the programme year. Many Au Pairs build great relationships that last beyond their programme years.

When you get on the airplane to come to New Zealand, the following items should be carried on with you:

• Your Visa and Passport
• Address of the Heartland Hotel: 14 Airpark Dr, Mangere, Auckland 2022
• Address and phone number of your Host Parents
• The Orientation Emergency Phone Number

Yes. All Au Pairs must have an International Driver’s License before they arrive into New Zealand. You must also take your national driver’s license with you.

• What kind of role do you want me to play in your family?
• How would you describe your children?
• What is an average day like in your family?
• How well do your children get along with each other?
• What does your family do for fun in your free time?
• What hours will I be working?
• Am I the first Au Pair you will have had?
• What activities do your children participate in?
• What is your city like?
• Will there be a curfew?
• Do you (the parents) work outside the home?
• Do you have a pet?
• Will I have access to a computer for email?
• How do you discipline your children?
• Do your children have any dietary or health concerns?

• Practice driving daily
• Respond as soon as possible to emails, phone calls, etc. from Host Families and Dream Au Pair
• Carefully edit your emails to Host Families—check spelling, grammar and punctuation.
• Be aware of your online reputation. Would potential Host Parents who view your Facebook page believe you are a responsible, trustworthy Au Pair based on what they see?
• Ask Host Parents questions. Show interest in their family, lifestyle and children.
• Continue to get more childcare experience. Update the total hours on your application regularly.
• Think of additional ways for Host Families to get to know you. Consider posting a video of yourself on YouTube for Host Families to view.
• If your share a phone with family members, let them know that potential Host Families will be calling you and it is important that any messages they take from them are given to you.
• Be open to caring for children of different ages and genders.
• Be open to being placed anywhere in New Zealand, Auckland and Wellington are great areas, but New Zealand has many other wonderful areas too!
• Be open-minded and go with your instinct. If you have a good feeling about a Host Family and they want to match with you, great! If you didn’t feel a good connection with the family, it’s understandable if you want to continue interviewing with other potential Host Families.
• Interviewing is really important to making sure you set proper expectations before your arrival!
• Install Skype on your computer so Host Families can get to know you through both voice and video.
• Be honest. An honest Au Pair is more important to Host Families than a “’perfect’’ Au Pair.
• Be careful with pictures. Host Families will look at the pictures in your application very closely. Make sure you are smiling, with children & family. Also make sure you are dressed nicely and appropriately.
• Do you have any special experience? Have you taken care of twins? Worked with children with disabilities? Taught a foreign language? If so – be sure to mention it in your application.

• Your toiletries
• Your personal phone calls
• Personal shopping – new clothes and shoes etc
• Your travel and holidays

You will have to apply for your visa on the New Zealand Immigration website.

1. Choose ‘Work’ as Visa type
2. Choose ‘nationality’ as what your visa is based on then choose your nationality. This will show you if you are eligible for a Working Holiday Visa.

Should you have any questions, then don’t hesitate to get in contact with Dream Au Pair. We can’t submit your application for you, but we might be able to clarify simple questions in the application process.