Hourly Rates for Nannies in Australia in 2022

For the most up to date guide, view our 2025 article here.

Find Out the Latest About Hourly Rates for Nannies in 2022

If you’re thinking about hiring a nanny, a key consideration is likely to be the cost. You might have already decided on the number of nanny hours you need. If so, you’ll have to find out if your budget matches your wishlist.

There’s little point in finding the next Mary Poppins only to discover that she’s out of your price range. If you’re asking yourself, “How much does a nanny cost?,” then read on for the lowdown about nanny pay rates and nanny payroll.

Your Guide to Hourly Nanny Rates in Australia

It's worth bearing in mind that multiplying a nanny’s hourly rate by the number of hours you need them is not going to give you the whole, true picture. There will be extra related costs involved along with other dependencies to consider. These include:

• Paid leave, sick pay and overtime
• Superannuation contributions
• Workers’ Compensation insurance
• Car insurance for your nanny if you want them to drive your vehicle

These extras come as part of the territory when you’re an employer. And, an employer is precisely what you’re likely to become when you hire a nanny. The business relationship you will have with your nanny will be a formal one. With that come legal obligations.

Many nannies see their role as part of a long-term career. They choose and love what they do. They may often have specialist skills and credentials to match the broad spectrum of families they’ll be working for.

A lot of the admin related to hiring a nanny can be time-consuming. This is particularly true if it’s your first time hiring someone. A cost-effective way to deal with this is to outsource the payroll to a third party.

How Much Does a Nanny Cost?

We’ve carried out our own research to help you budget accordingly. Here are the typical hourly rates for nannies that you need to know about:

• Minimum: $25.00
• Average  $30.00
• Maximum $35 +

The Fair Work Ombudsman can give you a breakdown of how these rates would increase at certain times. Let’s say you agree to a rate of $30.00 per hour with your nanny. You would then need to pay them:

• Time and a half or $45.00 per hour for the first 3 hours of overtime
• Double time or $60.00 per hour for overtime after the first 3 hours
• $36.00 per hour for any overtime between 1900 and 0700
• $36.00 per hour for working on Saturdays
• $45.00 per hour for working on Sundays
• $75.00 per hour for working on Public holidays

There are also certain allowances that your nanny may have an entitlement to. These include first aid, meal and vehicle allowances.

You may, for example, have to pay your nanny $0.80 per km if you have an agreement that they use their vehicle to pick up and drop off the kids at school. In these circumstances, you should check your nanny’s car insurance policy to make absolutely sure it covers your kids in case there’s an accident.

As a parent employer, it’s always a good idea to get professional advice from an expert. There are some excellent nanny payroll services out there that do all the hard work for you that relates to nanny payroll. That includes submitting payroll to the ATO, super, and Single Touch Payroll.

What Lies Behind the Fluctuation in Hourly Rates? 

As a general rule, a more experienced nanny is going to be able to command a higher hourly rate. On top of this, other factors may have an impact on how much you will have to pay. They include:

• The geographical location where you live
• The age of the child or children concerned
• The level of qualifications your nanny has
• Your nanny’s life experience and maturity
• Having a driver’s licence
• The demand for nannies in your area or region

There are no specific entry requirements to become a nanny in Australia. Most nannies will, however, need a Working With Children Check, a National Police Check, a First Aid Certificate and CPR certification.

Many nannies will also have completed a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC30113). They’d obtain these from a registered training organisation or through TAFE.

They might also hold a relevant bachelor's degree in education. Having a teaching degree, for example, would allow them to offer an extended range of services. It’s not uncommon for nannies to study for a further qualification while working.

Some nannies may have spent part of their careers doing relevant work or training, such as nursing or a stint overseas for a children’s charity.

Nannies may have qualifications earned outside of Australia. They can have these officially assessed so that you can see how they compare. You can find out more about this here.

There are regional fluctuations in hourly pay rates for nannies across the country. Larger urban areas generally command higher rates of pay. Sydney and Melbourne tend to command higher than average rates, Brisbane and Perth average rates and then Adelaide, Darwin and Hobart average to lower rates.

Nannies who look after newborn babies may also earn a better rate.

Associated Costs That Come With Employing a Nanny

Employees have every right to expect that their employers are going to pay them on time, give them a payslip and take care of their taxes. Nannies will therefore hold you to the same standards that would apply to any business that employs a worker.

Holiday Pay and Sick Leave

Full-time and part-time employees in Australia have an entitlement to four weeks of paid annual leave. You would need to base their leave on their ordinary hours of work. For example, if they have a contract with you to work 20 hours a week, they would have an entitlement to 80 hours of holiday pay. Per year

You can find out more about issues related to leave entitlement here.

All employees in Australia except casuals have an entitlement to paid sick and carer’s leave. Again, families must base their nanny’s annual entitlement on ordinary hours of work. The leave works out at 10 days for full-time employees and pro-rata for a part-time employee.

You can find out more about sick and carer’s leave entitlements here.

Superannuation Explained

In Australia, superannuation or super is the name we use for retirement pension benefit funds. As a general rule, if you pay an employee $450 or more before tax as a salary in a calendar month, you will have to pay a super guarantee for them.

From 1 July 2022, you'll need to pay super guarantee contributions to your nanny's super fund no matter how much you pay them.

The current rate of superannuation is 10 percent of your nanny’s gross wage. This will increase to 10.5 percent from July 2022. You can find out more here about Super.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

WorkCover’s been a one-size-fits-all term that refers to Workers’ Compensation across Australia. Recent changes in some areas may also mean the name we call it could now vary.

Workers' Compensation is a compulsory statutory type of insurance that applies to every employer in Australia. It offers protection to workers in the event that they suffer a work-related injury or disease.

The regulation of Workers’ Comp varies between each state and territory. There are differences in who underwrites the schemes and what each scheme includes. As a general overview, Workers’ Comp could provide some or all of the following to an injured worker:

• Weekly benefits
• Medical and hospital expenses
• Rehabilitation services
• Reimbursement for certain personal items
• A lump-sum payment for permanent impairment

You can find out more about the Workers’ Comp schemes where you live here:

• New South Wales
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia
• Australian Capital Territory
• Northern Territory

Understanding the Minimum Wage

There are two great big “Nos” when employing a nanny. The first is to think you can pay your nanny cash under the table. The second is to pay your nanny less than the minimum wage.

In Australia, the minimum wage for all adults is $20.33 per hour. The significant word here is “minimum.” Just because it’s possible to pay someone $20.33 an hour doesn’t necessarily mean you should.

All employees, nannies included, need to feel valued. You will be entrusting another person to care for those most precious to you. That’s a service that’s worth a great deal in terms of its emotional impact and the opportunities it creates for you and your family.

It often means parents can carry on working to pay for education, holidays and activities that will enrich the lives of their children. A nanny will also free up quality time for parents to spend with their children.

Car Insurance

If you are planning to let your nanny use your car for errands or to drive the kids around, you must make sure you can add them to your car insurance policy.

Always check their driver's licence. If your nanny is under 25, you may find that some policies either won't cover them or that premiums will increase dramatically.

Ensuring Compliance with Rules and Regulations

Making sure everything’s above board when employing a nanny takes a lot of time and effort.

This can be hard on parents who are already trying to juggle a career and a long list of other commitments. It also requires keeping your eye on the ball because rules change from time to time. Ignorance tends to be no defence should you miss any updates.

These are some of the reasons why we recommend getting an expert to take care of your nanny payroll. Pay the Nanny has a team of qualified accountants and financial and taxation specialists. For us, paying the nanny is second nature.

For one low and affordable monthly fee, let Pay the Nanny sort out all the admin connected to paying your nanny, from taxes to Super and Workers’ Comp. For the time and stress that you’ll save, it’s a small price to pay.