au pairs and parents link up on internet Good value: Au pair Katharina Stemweddel, 18, centre, with Livia McKinley and her children Freya, 4, and Owen, 1. Photo: Tamara Dean Stressed-out families are turning to young travellers to solve their childcare problems, using online social networks to find live-in au pairs from around the world. Livia McKinley has two children and a busy job that sometimes calls for extra hours or last-minute travel. Childcare centres were unable to provide the service she needed. So she hired an au pair. "It's not set hours and they can be more flexible to your needs," she said. It's great, there's always an extra set of hands around. Ms McKinley and her husband David first looked for someone through an agency. But the agency fees were expensive, and so they looked on free classifieds website Gumtree and found German teenager Katharina Stemweddel, 18. Like many au pairs, Ms Stemweddel chose the job because it meant she would be able to save money to travel around Australia later. "I have a lovely family so I'm very happy to stay here," she said. Most au pairs stay with a family only three to six months because of visa restrictions, so Ms Stemweddel is finishing up this month. To find her replacement, the McKinleys have turned to website Aupair World, a German social network that allows you to link up with potential au pairs from around the world. A number of the McKinleys' friends use the site, where the rules are simple. Find a match and negotiate a contract. The site recommends Australian host families pay au pairs between $200 and $250 a week in "pocket money," for between 20 and 30 hours of work. In January the site had more than 1.4 million users. A search of available positions on Aupair World shows more than 300 families in Australia searching for a female au pair. Au pairs are given free room and board. Most pay their own way to Australia. While it might look like a win for parents struggling to find affordable and flexible childcare, United Voice, the union that represents childcare workers, is concerned the online au pair market exists without proper oversight. Are they paying tax at the correct rate? Are they covered for workers' compensation? Are they part of the economy or is it part of the cash economy? They're questions that really have to be answered," United Voice national president Michael Crosby said. Most au pairs come to Australia on working holiday visas or student visas. In the six months to December 2012, 136,155 applications were granted in the working holiday program. The government does not require those visa holders to report their occupation, so it is impossible to tell how many are au pairs. Parents who place their children in long daycare can claim half of the cost, up to $7500 a year, on taxes. The rebate does not extend to au pairs and nannies but Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has signalled plans to change that if elected. Mr Crosby said the Coalition plan would force up the cost of childcare even further, because no new funding to cover the cost of in-home care was being proposed. But Ms McKinley said having an au pair is good value, regardless of tax arrangements.