Steps to Meet the Legal Requirements for Employing a Nanny

Employing a Nanny in Australia

Last updated: 19th May 2025

Check your Nanny’s right to work in Australia

A person can’t be employed if they can’t legally work in Australia. This is a responsibility of the Employer and you must check that your nanny has the correct right to work, before she begins employment.

• Australian birth certificate
• Australian citizenship certificate
• Australian or New Zealand passport
• Evidence of permanent residence (ie. overseas passport with VEVO check)
• Certificate of Status for New Zealand Citizens in Australia and photo identification
• Valid visa with permission to work (not all visas allow people to work)

Know the statutory requirements

Employers should be aware of what their minimum requirements are. Even if it is your first time being an employer, it is a requirement under law, to give your nanny their minimum entitlements. This includes ensuring that you:

• Pay nannies what their employment contract states, and at least the legal minimum wage.
• Give the nanny at least four weeks’ annual holidays.
• Give the nanny the day off on public holidays or give them an alternative holiday if they work, if it is a normal working day for them.
• Pay at least time and a half if your nanny works on a public holiday.
• Give employees at least ten days’ sick leave per year.
• Act in good faith and with honesty.
• Provide a safe workplace.
• Do not deduct money from wages unlawfully.

For more information check out the Fair Work Ombudsmen website: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employee-entitlements

Sign a written employment agreement

The relationship between a nanny and their family is one of employer and employee. This means that you must have a written, and signed, employment agreement before your nanny begins work

The Employment Contract Tool is a good starting point for setting out some guidelines around what is required from an employment agreement, as well as providing a useful template.

Collect the necessary tax documents

Once you’ve agreed on the terms of employment, and signed a contract, you need to make sure you are meeting your legal requirements with the tax department.

To ensure that you pay the correct tax deductions, you will need to collect the following documents from your nanny:

• Tax File Number Declaration
• Superannuation information for your Nanny
• Bank account details
• Any other relevant information

In addition to that, you will also need to make sure you are filing the necessary returns with the ATO each month. The ATO has some useful guidelines around what is required when you become an employer

Provide an induction

While it is not technically a legal requirement for employing a nanny, providing an adequate staff induction is an important part of any employment relationship.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has some excellent templates for advertising, reference checking and inducting staff.

One thing that we see is as important for a nanny’s induction is a robust health and safety plan. In particular, this should cover what would happen in the event of a natural disaster – i.e meeting points etc.

Obtain Workers Compensation Insurance

Having workers compensation is a legal requirement of any employer. It's a form of insurance payment that provides financial support if a person is injured at work or becomes sick due to work. It can include payments to cover their wages while they are unable to work, payments for medical expenses and rehabilitation costs.

Workers compensation is managed by the regulator each state or territory. For more info, we'd recommend checking out the relevant website below:

• Australian Capital Territory - WorkSafe ACT
• New South Wales - State Insurance Regulatory Authority (NSW) 
• Northern Territory - NT WorkSafe 
• Norfolk Island - Norfolk Island Workers Compensation Agency 
• Queensland - WorkCover Queensland 
• South Australia - ReturnToWork SA 
• Tasmania - WorkCover Tasmania 
• Victoria - WorkSafe Victoria 
• Western Australia - WorkCover WA

Issue a payslip

Last, but not least, is making sure that you meet the legal requirements for your payroll. One of these aspects is making sure that you issue your nanny with a payslip for each pay period. This is an important aspect of payroll as it gives the nanny confidence that their pay has been calculated correctly.

If you are struggling with issuing a payslip, or don’t have the software to allow this, then do give us an email and ask us for assistance.

Pay The Nanny

Our mission is to make it as simple as possible for households to manage payroll for their nannies.​

Pay The Nanny provides friendly, accurate and flexible nanny payroll services to nanny employers. We take care of everything to do with PAYG, Workers Compensation, leave payments and Superannuation.

For more information, check out our website at www.paythenanny.com.au. Make sure you give us a like over on our Facebook page too.