4 Nanny Payroll Options in Australia

There are few certainties in life but one is that having kids does not come cheap. Every new bundle of joy has a future to pay for and it will usually come down to you as the parent to sort that out.

Nannies are career enablers. They let you carry on working when you have the responsibility of a family to look after. Finding the right nanny is a big part of the battle but so is knowing how to pay them.

Read on for the lowdown on the best way to sort out your nanny payroll.

Stop, Think and Prepare

As always, you have a “to-do” list as long as your arm. Paying the new nanny must be straightforward, mustn’t it? The truth is that it can be straightforward, just as long as you do it correctly.

Get it wrong and you could find yourself pouring well-earned cash down the drain. At worst, you might find yourself in trouble with the law. Get it right and you’ll be able to relax!

We’re going to meet 4 families in Australia who all have nannies but who’ve chosen to pay them in different ways. 3 of these families are living proof of why it’s sometimes very wise to keep up with the Joneses!

Make it Easy on Yourself!

Meet Jessica and Matthew Jones. They have a live-in nanny called Ruby who’s been looking after their four-year-old son, Noah, for the past year. They found Ruby through an old family friend who lives in the UK.

Jessica and Matthew are total opposites. Matthew is a graphic designer and still fancies himself as a bit of a boho surf dude. Jess is an Office Manager. She is definitely an organiser and likes everything done just so.

“Don’t get me wrong,” she says, “Matt’s a wonderful Dad but if I’d left it to him to do all our nanny payroll paperwork, we’d either be broke or I’d be in prison!”

“I know it’s tedious but when you hire a nanny, you become an employer and that means you have certain responsibilities and legal obligations. I was lucky because I knew a lot about this kind of stuff from work. Most people don’t.”

“There’s PAYG withholding to sort out. There are monthly payslips to generate. Plus there’s super to pay because Ruby’s wages are over the minimum threshold.

“Some of these things vary from state to state. It can be really easy to take your eye off the ball, think you’re doing everything right, and then find yourself in hot water.”

A Fail-Safe Way to Sort Nanny Payroll Australia

When Jess originally explained all these administrative ins and outs to Matt, his face glazed over. Unlike his wife, Matt’s talents do not lie in doing the admin. He’d also felt a little let down by a past employer who hadn’t treated him fairly with holiday pay.

“I wanted to get things right more for Ruby’s sake than anyone else,” he explains, “But, both Jess and I need to carry on working full-time in order to pay for the new house we’ve just bought, not to mention all the expenses that go with having Noah.”

“There’s no question that Jess could have done the paperwork. I just felt it was going to be too time-consuming and mean we’d see each other even less. It’s not just filling in a few forms. There are holidays to organise as well as overtime and sick pay to fix.”

“Someone at work told me they used a specialist company to do all their nanny payroll stuff for them. ‘There is a God,’ I thought to myself, especially after googling them and looking at their prices. ‘Pay the nanny Australia’ charges us just $14 a week. Job done.”

“They sort everything from software to workers’ compensation issues. $14? I’d blow more than that on two drinks down at the Crown and I get more time to spend with my beautiful wife!” 

“Help! I Need a Holiday”

A little further down the street live Laura and Jack Robinson. They have 3 kids aged 6, 7 and 9. They too have a live-in nanny or manny. His name is Scott. He’s from New Zealand and has just finished a degree in early childhood education.

Laura’s old school friend, Amy, runs a nanny agency and that’s how she and Jack found Scott.

“Talk about fabulous. Scott is worth his weight in gold,” Laura says, ”He’s a sweet guy and so good with all the kids. I think Amy was a bit nervous in case he didn’t work out but she needn’t have worried.”

“The only downside is the amount he costs. Amy got us a discount on the finder’s fee but that’s all. Her company does all the nanny payroll admin but, what we hadn’t realised, was that we’d have to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) for the privilege.”

“Yeah,” says Jack, “And that works out at 10 percent on top of all the other fees we’re paying the agency. That’d buy a nice holiday somewhere every year so it’s hit us hard.”

A few months down the line, Laura joined a Pilates class where she got talking to Jess Jones. Jess explained to Laura that she should use a third party like ‘Pay the Nanny Australia.’ Not only would Laura see a dramatic drop in her nanny payroll costs but she wouldn’t have to pay GST either.

“Yeah,” said Jack, “Scott’s sold New Zealand to us, so we’re jetting off there next month with all the money we’ve saved!”

Sleepless in Sydney

Olivia and Tom live a few streets away from the other two couples with their two kids and their nanny, Marie-Neige. “Oh no!!!,” screamed Olivia in the middle of the night.

“What’s going on?” Tom woke up with a start.

“I forgot to organise paying Marie-Neige’s super contribution. And I’m sure I’ve worked out her holiday pay wrongly too.”

“Right. That’s it, darling,” Tom turns the lights on. “I know you think you're Superwoman but you’ve got enough on your plate without all this nanny payroll nonsense. Tomorrow, I’m going to ask around for someone to help.”

A week later Tom and Olivia had outsourced all their nanny pay issues to ‘Pay the nanny Australia.’ “I know Jessica Jones is your ex but I actually like her recommendations,” Olivia said that night. She then smiled at Tom and fell fast asleep.

There May Be Trouble Ahead

Last but not least are Chloe and James. They used to live close to the other 3 couples with their 4 kids and nanny, Valentina. If only Chloe hadn’t listened to James. “Of course it’ll be OK. You’re such a worrier.” Those words still ring in her ears.

With 4 little ones, Chloe had needed to go back to work. They found Valentina through a Swiss newspaper ad. They needed to rein in their expenses and so had decided to pay Valentina cash in hand.

There’s nothing wrong with paying an employee in cash as long as you declare it and meet all your legal obligations. Chloe and James didn’t do this.

Valentina had exchanged notes with Ruby, Scott and Marie-Neige, three other nannies she met regularly in the park. She realised she was being short-changed and overworked.

She explained the financial situation to her Dad who happened to be a tax inspector in Zurich. He was not impressed. He called a colleague who was on an exchange programme with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

“I can’t believe it,” said Chloe, “Not only do we have to pay back all Valentina’s taxes. There are fines and interest to pay the ATO as well. It’s a total nightmare and it’s put a massive strain on our relationship at a time when we could really do without it.”

Three months later Chloe and James had to downsize and move into a much smaller home to pay off all their debts. Chloe also had to quit her job when Valentina decided to head back to Switzerland. She still can’t believe she had let James talk her into doing something so stupid.

It all goes to show that sometimes it really does pay to keep up with the Joneses.

Let Pay the Nanny Australia Take the Strain

Using a service like ‘Pay the Nanny Australia’ is cost-effective and will save you a massive amount of time, money and stress. When you have a young family, there are more important things to worry about than whether you’ve issued your nanny’s payslip correctly.

Pay the Nanny Australia are experts in their field. They’ll sort out all the administrative tasks associated with hiring a nanny from taxes to super. The best part is that it can cost you as little every month as your favourite pizza.

Get in touch with us now to find out how we can help you through all the hoops that come with employing a nanny in Australia. That means you can get on with what you love best- spending time with the kids.