Au Pair Agency Fees in South Africa: What You Pay and What You Don't

21 October 2026

Most South African au pair agencies charge the family a placement fee, often worked out as a percentage of the au pair’s annual pay, sometimes with a registration fee on top. You can skip that fee entirely by finding an au pair directly. On AuPairly, families pay a flat subscription from R249 for 7 days, and au pairs never pay anything.

That’s the short version. Below, we walk through how agency fees usually work, what the law says about who may be charged, what to check before you sign, and what the direct route costs. We’re a small team, so we’ll be straight with you about what we do and what we don’t.

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TL;DR

Agencies typically charge the family a placement fee that scales with the au pair’s annual pay, plus sometimes a registration fee. Always ask for the full fee structure in writing.
By law, a private employment agency can’t charge the work seeker (the au pair) a fee. Fees fall on the family side only.
On AuPairly there are no agency fees. Families pay R249 for 7-Day Access or R449 for 30-Day Access, and au pairs join free.
Our admin team reviews every profile for completeness, quality and authenticity before it goes live. Your own final checks stay with you.
Whatever route you choose, the pay itself must meet the national minimum wage of R30.23 per hour.

How agency fees usually work
What the law says about who pays
The cost that sits behind the agency fee: pay
Budget for the whole picture
Our view: why we have no agency fees
What it costs on AuPairly
A simple way to go from search to hire
When an agency might still make sense
FAQ
Sources

How agency fees usually work

Agency pricing in South Africa isn’t standardised. Each agency sets its own terms, so two quotes for the same au pair can be very different. Looking at published fee pages, a few patterns come up again and again:

A registration fee. Some agencies ask for a modest upfront amount to open your file, and some take it only once a match is secured.
A placement fee. This is the big one. It’s usually a percentage of the au pair’s gross annual salary, so the higher the pay, the bigger your fee.
Different rules for short placements. A temporary arrangement can carry a higher percentage than a permanent one, because the agency still does the work of finding someone.
Exclusivity and notice clauses. Some recruitment terms say fees still apply if you hire a candidate the agency introduced to you, even later on. One South African recruitment firm’s published terms include a 12-month exclusivity period over candidates it introduced, and you must report the candidate’s annual gross salary. Not every agency does this, but you should look for it.

We won’t name agencies or quote their rates here. Terms change, and you should get the current numbers directly. What we can tell you is how to read them.

A quick way to size up a quote

Ask the agency for five things, in writing:

The exact fee, and what it’s calculated on (annual salary, with or without allowances).
When it’s due: before you’ve met anyone, or only once there’s a match.
What happens if the au pair leaves or doesn’t work out. Is there a replacement or a refund, and for how long?
What exactly the agency checked about the candidate, and what it didn’t.
Whether any exclusivity period applies if you hire someone you first saw through them.

If an agency can’t answer these plainly, that tells you something.

What the law says about who pays

This part surprises many families. Under the Employment Services Act, a private employment agency can’t charge a work seeker for its placement services. The Department of Employment and Labour repeated this in a 2024 statement: no person may charge a work seeker a fee for providing employment services.

In practice, that means:

If an agency asks an au pair for a registration or placement fee, that’s a red flag.
Whatever the agency earns has to come from the family side.
Placement fees for au pairs hired locally are, in effect, a cost you carry.

There’s a second thing worth knowing. The agency’s contract with you is a service agreement. The contract between you and the au pair is an employment relationship. That means the agency isn’t the one responsible for how the au pair performs in your home, or for keeping your household compliant with labour law. That’s yours.

If you do use an agency and feel misled, the Consumer Protection Act may help. A legal Q&A on GroundUp explains that if an agency misrepresents a candidate or doesn’t deliver the placement it contracted for, you can demand a remedy, which may include a refund. It also advises getting your agreement in writing, with the placement conditions and fee structure spelled out, before you sign. We’d add: keep every message and every email.

The cost that sits behind the agency fee: pay

An agency fee is a one-off. The au pair’s pay is the ongoing cost, and it’s the one that can land you in trouble if you get it wrong.

From 1 March 2026, the national minimum wage is R30.23 per hour for each ordinary hour worked, and the Department’s 2026 flyer says that includes domestic workers. That’s the floor. A contract that pays less isn’t valid.

The same Department statement notes you must register an employee for UIF if they work more than 24 hours a month. So a part-time au pair can still bring UIF obligations.

We don’t quote au pair rates in our articles, because they vary by city, hours, experience and what your home needs. For real numbers, use our own tools:

If you’d like to know what else an au pair is entitled to, our guide to au pair benefits covers it. And if she lives in, these 7 steps explain how to make the accommodation lawful.

Budget for the whole picture

When you compare options, don’t stop at the fee. Add up the first month and the first year: the fee, the pay, UIF, any travel allowance, and the time you spend on interviews. Looking past the headline rate is good advice for any household service. This guide to personal concierge costs makes a similar point about hourly rates in another field.

Here’s how that looks side by side, using types of arrangement rather than brand names:

	Traditional placement agency	Direct on AuPairly
Fee to the family	Registration and/or placement fee, set by the agency	R249 for 7 days or R449 for 30 days
Fee to the au pair	Not allowed by law	None, free to join and message
Who you talk to	Usually the agency first	The au pair, directly
Profile checks	Depends on the agency	Admin-reviewed for completeness, quality and authenticity
Your final checks	Yours	Yours
Pay and contract	Between you and the au pair	Between you and the au pair

The last two rows are the same on purpose. No matter how you find her, you’re the employer.

Our view: why we have no agency fees

We started AuPairly because finding childcare shouldn’t mean paying a chunk of someone’s salary just to be introduced. For most families we talk to, the problem isn’t a lack of au pairs. It’s finding one quickly, who suits the kids and the schedule, without a big upfront bill.

So we kept the model simple. Families pay for access, not for a percentage of anyone’s pay. You see the price before you start. Au pairs pay nothing, which is how it should be.

We also want to be honest about what we are. We’re a marketplace. We aren’t an agency, and we don’t hire anyone for you. Every au pair profile is reviewed by our admin team before it goes live. We look at completeness, quality and authenticity. That’s a quality gate, not a background check. We don’t promise security screening, and we don’t check anyone’s employment history for you. You do your own final checks, and we’ll help you with how.

If you want more than the profile, there are optional add-ons you can request: an ID Check at R99 per year, a Reference Check at R89 one-off, a Qualification Check at R79 one-off, and a Criminal record check at R500 per year per check. They’re optional. Use the ones that matter to you.

Au pairs on the platform provide 3 references. Call them. Ask real questions. Our interview questions page gives you copy-ready ones, and our family safety guide walks through what to check before someone starts.

We also know a lot of families need someone at short notice, or just for an evening. We cover babysitting too, including urgent requests, which are a one-off fee rather than a subscription.

— Nicole

What it costs on AuPairly

Our pricing is on one page and we don’t hide the numbers.

7-Day Access: R249 per week.
30-Day Access: R449 per month.

Both let you message au pairs directly. There’s no placement fee, no registration fee and no percentage of salary. If you hire someone in the first week, you’ve paid R249 in total to us. If you need longer to meet a few people, the 30-day option costs less than two single weeks.

Ready to look? See the pricing page, or head straight to Find Your Perfect Au Pair. You can also browse au pairs by area if you know you want Cape Town, Johannesburg or somewhere else.

A simple way to go from search to hire

Decide your hours and duties. Childcare is the job, not heavy housework. Our guide to au pair duties helps you write it down clearly.
Filter by area. Narrow down by city and province so the travel is realistic.
Read profiles properly. We explain 5 profile details that save time.
Message several au pairs. Don’t settle on the first reply.
Interview, then call the 3 references.
Run any checks you want. Add the optional ID, reference, qualification or criminal record check if it helps you feel sure.
Put the contract in writing. Hours, pay at or above the minimum wage, UIF if it applies, and notice periods.
Do a trial period. A few shifts with you at home will tell you more than any profile.

When an agency might still make sense

We’re not going to tell you agencies are never worth it. If you want someone to run the whole search, handle the admin, and offer a replacement guarantee, that’s a service, and some families are happy to pay for it. If that’s you, get the terms in writing and compare more than one quote.

If you’re comfortable messaging a few candidates and doing your own interviews, you probably don’t need to pay a percentage of someone’s salary for that.

FAQ

Do au pair agencies in South Africa charge families a fee?

Most do. The fee is usually a placement fee based on the au pair’s annual pay, and some also add a registration fee. Every agency sets its own terms, so ask for the structure in writing before you commit.

Can an agency charge the au pair a fee?

No. The Employment Services Act says a private employment agency can’t charge a work seeker for its services. If an agency asks an au pair to pay a placement or registration fee, that’s a warning sign. Au pairs can read more in our safety guide for au pairs.

Are there free au pair agencies?

An agency lives on the fees it charges families, so it’s rare to find one that’s truly free. What you can do is skip the agency. On AuPairly, au pairs register and message families for free, and families pay a flat subscription from R249 for 7 days, with no placement fee.

What if an agency misled me or won’t refund me?

Put your complaint in writing and keep your agreement and messages. The Consumer Protection Act gives you rights if an agency misrepresents a candidate or doesn’t deliver what it contracted. If the agency belongs to an industry body, you can report it there too. For legal advice on your situation, speak to an attorney or a consumer body.

Does AuPairly background-check au pairs?

No. Our admin team reviews every profile for completeness, quality and authenticity before it goes live, and that’s a quality gate. Background checks aren’t part of the standard service. You can add optional ID, reference, qualification or criminal record checks, and you should always do your own final checks.