There is a job in every household that nobody applied for. It is the one that remembers the excursion form, notices the milk is nearly out, books the dentist, finds the library book, and works out what is for dinner while driving to netball. A family assistant is the answer to that job, and it is the role most parents have never heard of despite needing it for years.
We get it. You are not drowning in any single task. You are drowning in the sheer number of them, and in the fact that they all live in your head at once. Here is what a family assistant does, how the role differs from a nanny or a cleaner, and how to work out whether your household would actually benefit from one.
What is a family assistant?
A family assistant is one person who looks after both the children and the running of the household. They can collect a child from school and, in the same afternoon, unpack the shopping, get a load of washing through, and start dinner before you walk in the door.
The role sits in the middle of three things people usually hire separately. It carries the childcare skills of a nanny, the organisational work of a personal assistant, and a share of the everyday household jobs. Rather than three people coming and going on three schedules, one person holds the whole picture and knows that Thursday is the day the green uniform is needed.
At The Care Collective we deliver this through our personal assistant service, which is staffed by carers who have full nanny capability. That combination is the whole point. Anyone can put washing on. Not everyone can put washing on while a seven year old works through their reading log at the kitchen bench.
How it differs from a nanny, a babysitter and a cleaner
The lines blur in conversation, so here is where they actually sit.
- A babysitter is booked for a block of hours to care for your children while you are out. The house is not their remit.
- A nanny is an ongoing arrangement, usually the same days every week, focused on the children: routines, meals, activities, school runs and the tidying that follows the children around. Our nannying service runs between ten and thirty seven hours a week.
- A cleaner restores the house to order on a set visit. It is deep, thorough work, and it is not childcare.
- A family assistant spans the children and the household admin, and flexes across a day rather than doing one thing well for four hours.
The distinction that matters most is not the task list. It is mental load. A cleaner leaves you a clean house. A family assistant leaves you with fewer things to remember, which is a different kind of relief entirely.
A week in the life
Every family shapes the role differently, but a fairly ordinary week looks like this.
- Monday: school pick up, afternoon tea, homework supervision, dinner prepped and in the fridge, uniforms sorted for the week.
- Tuesday: groceries against your list, pharmacy run, birthday present bought and wrapped for Saturday’s party, swimming bags packed.
- Wednesday: a quieter day at home with the toddler, laundry cycled through, the fridge cleared out before the new shop.
- Thursday: the appointment shuffle, so the dentist and the physio and the haircut all happen without you taking half a day off.
- Friday: school run, playdate hosted, the house reset so the weekend starts calm rather than as another list.
Notice how little of it is dramatic. The value of a family assistant is not in one big rescue. It is in twenty small things not landing on you at 9pm.
Who the role actually suits
It is not for everyone, and we would rather say so. The households where it earns its keep tend to look like one of these.
- Both parents working, with school aged children. The care gap is short, but the admin gap is enormous. A family assistant fills both in the same afternoon.
- A newborn and older children. The baby takes everything you have, and the older two still need feeding, driving and listening to. This is the single most common reason families call us.
- One parent travelling for work. The house does not run itself in the week they are away, and the parent left behind is doing two jobs.
- Returning to work after parental leave. The first term back is the hardest one. We wrote about that transition here.
- Business owners and shift workers whose hours do not fit any centre’s opening times.
If your week is genuinely steady and the children are in care that already works, a fortnightly clean and a good calendar may be all you need. Nobody at our end benefits from selling you hours you will not use.
What a family assistant costs
Personal assistant hours are charged at the same rates as our childcare, because the person doing them is a qualified carer. All rates are GST inclusive.
- Monday to Saturday: $56 per hour for one or two children, $60 for three, $65 for four and $70 for five.
- Sunday: $70 per hour for one or two children, rising to $77 for five.
- Public holidays: $95 per hour.
- Dedicated cleaning is a separate service at $59 per hour Monday to Saturday and $82 on Sunday, for the deeper work that sits outside a family assistant’s day.
If a carer uses their own car to transport your children, a fuel allowance of $1.10 per kilometre applies. The full rate card is here.
Most families start with two or three afternoons a week and adjust after a month, once they can see where the pressure really sits. It is almost never where they predicted.
The part you do not have to organise
A family assistant sees more of your household than almost anyone else you will hire. They will know what is in your cupboards, where the spare key lives and what your children are like at their worst. That is exactly why the screening happens before anyone reaches your door.
Around the top twenty per cent of applicants make it through our process. Every carer holds current First Aid and CPR and a valid Working with Children Check, and we have contacted their references ourselves. They are employed by The Care Collective and insured as our staff rather than engaged as contractors, which means the responsibility for all of it sits with us. That is the arrangement, and none of it is yours to organise.
Family assistant FAQs
Will a family assistant do the deep cleaning?
No, and it is worth being clear about it. They keep the house running through the day: tidying, laundry, dishes, dinner, unpacking shopping. Bathrooms, floors and windows belong to our household services team, which is a separate booking at a separate rate.
Can they work while the children are at school?
Yes, and it is often the smartest way to use the hours. A block from ten until three gets the shopping, the appointments and the admin done, then rolls straight into the school run without the day ever being interrupted.
Is there a minimum number of hours?
Casual bookings carry a three hour minimum. Ongoing arrangements sit between ten and thirty seven hours a week and carry a one off recruitment fee of $500, which covers the search and matching work at the start.
What if the fit is not right?
Tell us early. Matching is a judgement call about personalities, not just availability, and occasionally we read a household wrong. We would far rather rematch you in week two than have you quietly put up with it for a year.
Ready to hand some of it over?
If you recognised your own week somewhere above, the next step is a short conversation about what your days actually look like, not a form.
Book a family assistant when you are ready, or get in touch and we will talk it through. You can also call us on 0451 394 018 or email hello@thecarecollectivegroup.com.au. Let us lighten your load.
